The IllustrisTNG universe simulation is helping cosmologists study dark matter and other cosmic mysteries.
We hold the universe accountable for a lot of life’s changes. Some of us even “speak” things into existence with its help. But there’s so much we don’t know about that infinite vastness we call the universe. As cosmologists and physicists try to explain the inexplicable, there’s now a simulation they can use.
The IllustrisTNG Project is “an ongoing series of large, cosmological magnetohydrodynamical simulations of galaxy formation”. In layman’s terms, it’s a way to see how cosmic phenomena are created and contains 18 different simulations in total. A team of 11 astrophysicists and cosmologists, headed by Volker Springel, have worked hard to expose the processes behind galaxy formation and help understand the what, when, why, and how of cosmic evolution. And it’s helped many scientists from around the world as Quanta Magazine found out.
If you want to check it out, you can find more info on the IllustrisTNG project website. You can stream one of the simulations below.