Explore the universe through the most detailed 3D virtual reality map

Swiss scientists use VR technology and a huge astronomical database to simulate the universe in 360 degrees in real time.

VIRUP virtual reality software allows 360-degree observation of the universe. (Video: Reuters)

At the Laboratory for Astrophysics (LASTRO) at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne (EPFL), scientists have developed the most detailed virtual reality (VR) simulation of the universe ever created in real time, based on modern astrophysical data. Called the Virtual Reality Universe Project , or VIRUP for short, the software is now available as open source to astronauts around the world.

'What we're looking at here is the largest dataset of the universe. It's running in real time in a 360-degree 3D environment, allowing people to navigate freely ,' said researcher Sarah Kenderdine at EPFL.

After centuries of space exploration, astronomers have collected data on billions of celestial objects in the night sky using telescopes both on the ground and in space.

Creating a visual representation of such a large amount of data in real time is a major challenge for software developers. For conventional 3D simulations, the data is pre-rendered into specific sequences, like what we see at planetariums.

' What's new with VIRUP is real-time ! It puts tens of terabytes of data on screen with very high fidelity ,' Kenderdine added.

Images of the universe displayed by VIRUP have very high fidelity. (Photo: EPFL)

As more data is collected, scientists will have a more complete view of events in the universe.

"For example, we can now understand very well how large-scale structures, including galaxies, form. It's a quite complex process and not easy to visualize in 2D simulations. VIRUP takes you on a journey through the galaxy and directly sees how things form, evolve and come together," explains astrophysicist Yves Revaz from LASTRO.

Currently, VIRUP software is able to visualize data from more than eight astronomical facilities together, including more than 50 million galaxies and 4,500 exoplanets discovered by the Sloan Digital Sky Survey to date.

VIRUP also creates powerful simulations based on its data research. So you can see the future collision of the Milky Way with its neighbor Andromeda, or large-scale filamentary structures that stretch across the universe.

As more data is collected, VIRUP will add it to its software, giving astronomers and astrophysicists a whole new view of space.