In the September 1 issue of the Astrophysical Journal, researchers from Princeton University and Lawrence Berkeley National Labs discuss a new collection of 3D simulations of supernova effects from the death of gigantic stars. Running on the NERSC Franklin Cray XT4, it took 4 million computer hours to get the results, generating a mountain of data. Of course, the simulation is only half the problem, with analyzing and visualizing the results being the other.
“Visualization is crucial,” Burrows said. “Otherwise, all you have is merely a jumble of numbers. Visualization via stills and movies conjures the entire phenomenon and brings home what has happened. It also allows one to diagnose the dynamics, so that the event is not only visualized, but understood.”
To help them visualize these results, the team relied on Hank Childs of the Berkeley Lab’s Visualization Group. Nordhaus noted that Childs played an important role in helping the team create 3D renderings of these supernovae.
Glad to see a familiar name involved in there (Hi Hank!), and I can bet they visualized it with VisIt .
via Princeton and Berkeley Lab Scientists Watch Stars Explode in 3D.
