Uchu (meaning “universe” in Japanese) is still there The largest and most realistic simulation of the universe. It contains 2.1 trillion particles housed in a virtual cube. Each side is 9.63 billion light-years long, about three-quarters of the distance between the Earth and the farthest galaxies observed. The evolution of the universe is in full swing in unprecedented quantities and details.

The Uchuu model focuses on the large-scale structure of the universe, not on “trivial matter” such as stars or their planets, but on dark matter affecting the formation of galaxies and large structures. Furthermore, this virtual reflection of the universe captures the universe not only in space but also in time – mimicking the evolution of matter throughout the nearly 13.8 billion years of history from the Big Bang to the present day.

Why is this?

Astronomers use this model to study the largest structures in the universe. Julia F. is one of the scientists who works with him. Erasea describes how she uses it: “Noon is like a time machine: we can move forward and backward and stop at the right time, we can zoom in or out of a galaxy and see the whole cluster, we can see what is really happening at every moment in every place in the universe, its From the beginning to the present, it has been a basic tool for studying the universe. “

The remarkable virtual universe was created by an international scientific team of experts from Japan, Spain, the USA, Argentina, Australia, Chile, France and Italy. They used a very powerful supercomputer specializing in astronomy for its development.

Despite the tremendous computing power, Uchu’s work took more than a year. Tomoki Ishiyama, who created the program code, was the main author: “We used the 40,200 processors (CPU cores) available to create the Uzu.

The data for this simulation are generally available Here.