Stellar Swirls

A fluid dynamics visualization featuring a complex field of swirls and vortices. The image uses a divergent color scale, with deep reds and oranges representing one extreme and vibrant blues representing the other. The patterns show turbulent flow, where thin filaments of color interweave and larger spiral structures suggest the mixing of two distinct phases or temperatures in a high-resolution simulation.

Label: Stellar Swirls
Artist: Ezra Brooker
Description: Turbulent eddies, or swirls, in a box of white dwarf star plasma that is partially “burning” via carbon fusion. This research is part of an effort in understanding the explosion mechanism of Type Ia supernovae, the cataclysmic deaths of white dwarf star corpses.
Type: Simulation
Artist Affiliation: Graduate Student
Department: Scientific Computing
Area of Research: Type Ia Supernovae Explosions (Astrophysics)
Date: 2020