Astrophysicists have developed the first high-resolution 3D model of a gas cloud coalescing to form a star — and it’s mind-blowing.
The “Starforge” model (which stands for “star formation in gaseous environments”) allows users to fly through a colorful cloud of gas as it pools into stars all around them. Researchers hope that the visually stunning simulation will help them to explore the many unsolved mysteries of star formation, such as: Why is the process so slow and inefficient? What determines a star’s mass? And why do stars tend to cluster together?
The computational framework is able to simulate gas clouds 100 times more massive than was previously possible and will enable scientists to model star formation, evolution and dynamics while taking into account things like jets, radiation, wind and even supernovas — the explosions of nearby stars.