OpenUniverse Project: Simulated Universe Views for Roman Space Telesccope | #shorts

Astronomers have unveiled over a million simulated images that preview how NASA's upcoming Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope will observe the cosmos. These groundbreaking visualizations, part of the OpenUniverse project, were generated using the now-retired Theta supercomputer at the Department of Energy’s Argonne National Laboratory. Incredibly, the supercomputer completed a task in nine days that would have taken 6,000 years on a typical computer.

This 400-terabyte dataset not only previews Roman’s capabilities but also provides insights into future observations from the Vera C. Rubin Observatory and ESA’s Euclid mission, with NASA contributions. Using advanced modeling of cosmic physics and telescope instrumentation, the simulations span 70 square degrees of the sky, equivalent to the area covered by over 300 full moons, and trace over 12 billion years of cosmic history.

A video from the simulation zooms into a galaxy-dense region, magnified 75 times, demonstrating the Roman telescope's potential to deliver highly resolved images. This dataset offers a glimpse into the next era of cosmic discovery, enabling scientists to explore the universe with unparalleled clarity.

Credits:
NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center. However, individual items should be credited as indicated above.

Producer
Scott Wiessinger (eMITS)
Visualizer
Michael Troxel (Duke University)
Science writer
Ashley Balzer (ADNET Systems, Inc.)