How have galaxies changed since the universe formed?

The scientists created the most complex simulation ever of the TNG50 galaxy to find out how it has changed since the universe was born.

According to Digital Trends, this video was created from simulation data, showing the evolution of a giant galaxy from the beginning of the universe after the Big Bang to this day.

In the video, light colors represent thick gases and dark colors represent thinner gases. Below the video, the left frame shows dark matter, the right frame shows the distribution of stars and gas.

Video simulating TNG50 The entire simulated space is over 230 million light-years away from Earth, and we can see material phenomena a million times smaller.

According to the Royal Astronomical Society, if you want to have an accurate simulation, you have to 'put the whole universe into a box' . In addition, the simulation scale must be combined with the level of detail normally found only in studies of individual galaxies.

The entire simulated space is over 230 million light years long and it can show material phenomena a million times smaller. With this simulation, astronomers can see significant changes in galaxies over the 13.8 billion years of the universe's history.

To handle the vast amount of data needed for the project, researchers cannot use conventional computers. They use Hazel Hen supercomputer located in Stuttgart, Germany and use more than 16,000 chips operating 24/7 for over a year to build the simulation.

TNG50 simulation image: optical light emitted from the stars of the spiral galaxy.(Photo: MPA).

In the process of simulating the movements of galaxies, the most important is the modeling of dark matter, because it is difficult to see them directly.

A total of more than 20 billion particles in the simulation, including particles representing dark matter, stars, cosmic gas, magnetic fields and giant black holes.

A specific finding from simulations involves disk galaxies like the Milky Way. With this model, scientists can determine how ordered disk galaxies appear from the chaotic universe. As the universe ages, the gas inside it settles and new stars are born in orbit increasingly round.

'In fact, TNG50 shows that the Milky Way is one of the beautiful galaxies. Over the 10 billion years, at least the newly formed stars have become increasingly disk-like and the internal chaotic motions have decreased significantly , '' Dr Annalisa Pillepich explained.