Related papers: The Ultimate Display
As the quantity and resolution of spectral-cubes from optical/infrared and radio surveys increase, desktop-based visualization and analysis solutions must adapt and evolve. Novel immersive 3D environments such as the CAVE2 at Monash…
Despite the large budgets spent annually on astronomical research equipment such as telescopes, instruments and supercomputers, the general trend is to analyse and view the resulting datasets using small, two-dimensional displays. We report…
Data visualisation is an essential ingredient of scientific analysis, discovery, and communication. Along with a human (to do the looking) and the data (something to look at), an image display device is a key component of any data…
We report on an exploratory project aimed at performing immersive 3D visualization of astronomical data, starting with spectral-line radio data cubes from galaxies. This work is done as a collaboration between the Department of Physics and…
Radio survey datasets comprise an increasing number of individual observations stored as sets of multidimensional data. In large survey projects, astronomers commonly face limitations regarding: 1) interactive visual analytics of…
Upcoming astronomical surveys produce imagery that spans many orders of magnitude in spatial scale, requiring scientists to reason fluidly between global structure and local detail. Data from the Vera C. Rubin Observatory exemplifies this…
Visualisation of data is critical to understanding astronomical phenomena. Today, many instruments produce datasets that are too big to be downloaded to a local computer, yet many of the visualisation tools used by astronomers are deployed…
Traditional analysis techniques may not be sufficient for astronomers to make the best use of the data sets that current and future instruments, such as the Square Kilometre Array and its Pathfinders, will produce. By utilizing the…
We present encube $-$ a qualitative, quantitative and comparative visualisation and analysis system, with application to high-resolution, immersive three-dimensional environments and desktop displays. encube extends previous comparative…
3D visualization is an important data analysis and knowledge discovery tool, however, interactive visualization of large 3D astronomical datasets poses a challenge for many existing data visualization packages. We present a solution to…
Visualizing and navigating through large astronomy images from a remote location with current astronomy display tools can be a frustrating experience in terms of speed and ergonomics, especially on mobile devices. In this paper, we present…
Spherical coordinate systems, which are ubiquitous in astronomy, cannot be shown without distortion on flat, two-dimensional surfaces. This poses challenges for the two complementary phases of visual exploration -- making discoveries in…
Upcoming and future astronomy research facilities will systematically generate terabyte-sized data sets moving astronomy into the Petascale data era. While such facilities will provide astronomers with unprecedented levels of accuracy and…
Interactive visualization and simulation of astrophysical phenomena help astronomers and enable digital planetariums and television documentaries to take their spectators on a journey into deep space to explore the astronomical wonders of…
For over half a century, the computer mouse has been the primary tool for interacting with digital data, yet it remains a limiting factor in exploring complex, multi-scale scientific images. Traditional 2D visualization methods hinder…
Increasingly there is a need to develop astronomical visualisation and manipulations tools which allow viewers to interact with displayed data directly, in real time and across a range of platforms. In addition, increases in dynamic range…
Astronomy depends on ever increasing computing power. Processor clock-rates have plateaued, and increased performance is now appearing in the form of additional processor cores on a single chip. This poses significant challenges to the…
Astronomers have come to rely on the increasing performance of computers to reduce, analyze, simulate and visualize their data. In this environment, faster computation can mean more science outcomes or the opening up of new parameter spaces…
Immersive, stereoscopic viewing enables scientists to better analyze the spatial structures of visualized physical phenomena. However, their findings cannot be properly presented in traditional media, which lack these core attributes.…
The IDIA Visualisation Laboratory based at the University of Cape Town is exploring the use of virtual reality technology to visualise and analyse astronomical data. The iDaVIE software suite currently under development reads from both…