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6 stellar images of the early universe
The model uses more than 15,000 graphics processing units to test theories of cosmic evolution and compare predictions with James Webb Space Telescope data.
- On Monday, October 26, 2026, researchers at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics published a study detailing Lumina, the largest cosmological radiation-hydrodynamics simulation ever created, capturing the universe's evolution during its first 2 billion years following the Big Bang.
- Creating Lumina required more than 15,000 graphics processing units running on Frontier, a supercomputer located in Tennessee, enabling scientists to model a cube of space spanning 1.5 billion light-years with unprecedented detail.
- Lead author Oliver Zier, an ITC Fellow at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center, explained that "to understand what we are seeing with this telescope, we need to translate our theories into detailed predictions." The simulation helps determine if James Webb Space Telescope observations match current theories.
- Co-Author Aaron Smith of the University of Texas at Dallas noted researchers can now follow how hydrogen and helium transformed into their modern forms across an enormous cosmic volume while resolving the galaxies driving that transformation.
- Comparing Lumina's predictions with data from the James Webb Space Telescope and the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope allows astronomers to test their understanding of universal laws; if observations fail to match, scientists may need to reconsider existing theories.
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Before the galaxies lit up the sky of the universe, there was a long darkness in which the gases blocked the light. Today, a giant computer is rebuilding that era, revealing how the blackness was dispelled, and who lit the first lights in space.
The large-scale model showed the birth of the first stars and galaxies.
Scientists recreate the universe’s first two billion years in stunning detail
A vast new computer simulation is giving astronomers a detailed look at how the first stars and galaxies transformed the early universe. Called Lumina, the model follows the first two billion years of cosmic history and covers more than 100 times the volume of earlier comparable simulations. The achievement could help scientists understand observations from […]
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Total News Sources17
Leaning Left2Leaning Right1Center2Last UpdatedBias Distribution40% Left, 40% Center
Bias Distribution
- 40% of the sources lean Left, 40% of the sources are Center
40% Center
L 40%
C 40%
R 20%
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