Cosmic Web
Purpose
Section titled “Purpose”A 3D visualization of the cosmic web—the large-scale structure of the universe. Navigate through a representation of galaxy distribution from SDSS to understand large-scale cosmic structure.
Features
Section titled “Features”3D Navigation
Section titled “3D Navigation”- Orbit, pan, zoom controls
- Fly-through mode
- Preset viewpoints (Milky Way, Local Group, etc.)
Data Layers
Section titled “Data Layers”- SDSS galaxy positions and redshifts
- Galaxy clusters and superclusters
- Void regions
- Coordinate grids (galactic, equatorial)
Level of Detail
Section titled “Level of Detail”- Overview: density representation
- Mid-zoom: aggregate points
- Close-up: individual galaxies with data
Performance
Section titled “Performance”- WebGL rendering via Three.js
- GPU instancing for millions of points
- Progressive loading based on camera position
- Web Workers for data processing
Data Source
Section titled “Data Source”SDSS SkyServer (direct queries)
- Millions of galaxies with photometry and spectra
- Subset selection based on viewport and redshift range
- See Data Sources
Technical Notes
Section titled “Technical Notes”- Three.js for WebGL rendering
- Octree spatial indexing for LOD
- SQL queries to SDSS SkyServer
- Web Workers for heavy computation
- Fallback for WebGL-unsupported browsers