Credit: NASA/CXC/Pontifical Catholic Univ. of Chile /C.Russell et al.
Virtual Realities, Near and Far
Someday we may be able to travel around the the Milky Way within the course of a human proper lifetime, but until then, we can dream. Using observations of the hot gas from the center of the Milky Way obtained by the Chandra X-ray Observatory, and other telescopes, astronomers continue to refine their simulations of the center of the Galaxy, which you can use to take a virtual visit. The center of the Milky Way is of course an incredibly interesting place, home as it is to the central supermassive black hole Sgr A* (pronounced "Saj A-star" by cognoscenti) along with dozens of extremely massive, violent stars, and other oddities. The image above is a frame from this virtual reality simulation, showing the distribution of swirling hot gas produced by the collisions of the strong stellar winds from the massive stars. You can watch how this hot gas is produced and how it swirls toward Sgr A* and is swallowed, in simulated time over the last 500 years. For the best experience download the simulation from a VR store (like Steam or Viveport) and view it using a VR headset. This simulation was presented at the 236th meeting of the American Astronomical Society, itself held virtually because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Published: June 8, 2020
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Page Author: Dr. Michael F. Corcoran
Last modified Tuesday, 27-Feb-2024 10:06:39 EST