Watch the universe emerge from the dark ages, with Lumina
The new simulation tracks dark matter, galaxies, stars, and cosmic structures over the universe’s first 2 billion years, in greater detail and volume than ever before.
The Big Bang gave birth to a scorching and dense atomic soup of electrons and subatomic particles. As the universe expanded and cooled, particles in this primordial plasma bonded with electrons, forming electrically neutral hydrogen. This hydrogen shroud blocked light and other radiation, plunging the cosmos into a cosmic "dark age" around 380,000 years after the Big Bang.
A new computer simulation, Lumina, reveals how the universe emerged from this darkness, detailing the formation of galaxies, stars, and other structures in the early cosmos. The simulation, capable of tracking cosmic evolution for 2 billion years, uncovers key transformations like hydrogen and helium re-ionization. By capturing both hydrogen and helium re-ionization, Lumina provides unprecedented insights into the processes that shaped the first galaxies, stars, and cosmic structures.
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