Interactive stereoscopic visualization of large-scale astrophysical simulations

Ralf Kaehler; Tom Abel

doi:10.1117/12.909258

28 February 2012 Interactive stereoscopic visualization of large-scale astrophysical simulations

Ralf Kaehler, Tom Abel

Proceedings Volume 8288, Stereoscopic Displays and Applications XXIII; 82882O (2012) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.909258
Event: IS&T/SPIE Electronic Imaging, 2012, Burlingame, California, United States

Abstract

In the last decades three-dimensional, time-dependent numerical simulations have become a standard tool in astrophysics and cosmology. This gave rise to a growing demand for analysis methods that are tailored to this type of simulation data, for example high-quality visualization approaches such as direct volume rendering and the display of stream lines. The modelled phenomena in numerical astrophysics usually involve complex spatial and temporal structures, and stereoscopic display techniques have proven to be particularly beneficial to clarify the spatial relationships of the relevant features. In this paper we present a flexible software framework for interactive stereoscopic visualizations of large time-dependent, three-dimensional astrophysical and cosmological simulation datasets. It is designed to enable fast and intuitive creation of complete rendering workflows, from importing datasets, the definition of various parameters, including camera paths and stereoscopic settings, to the storage of the final images in various output formats. It leverages the power of modern graphics processing units (GPUs) and supports high-quality floating-point precision throughout the whole rendering pipeline. All functionality is scriptable through Javascript. We give several application examples, including sequences produced for a number of planetarium shows.

Citation Download Citation

Ralf Kaehler and Tom Abel "Interactive stereoscopic visualization of large-scale astrophysical simulations", Proc. SPIE 8288, Stereoscopic Displays and Applications XXIII, 82882O (28 February 2012); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.909258

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