Supercomputers in Astronomy: Simulating the Cosmos

Supercomputers allow astronomers to simulate the universe from the Big Bang to today.
They model how galaxies, stars, and planets form over billions of years.
Complex simulations track dark matter and dark energy shaping cosmic structure.
Supercomputers recreate supernova explosions to study element creation.
They help predict gravitational waves from black hole and neutron star mergers.
Simulations test theories that can’t be reproduced in a lab or telescope.
Projects like Illustris and EAGLE simulate millions of galaxies in 3D.
Supercomputers also process petabytes of data from telescopes like Gaia and Webb.
Machine learning and AI are now boosting how simulations match real observations.
These virtual universes let scientists explore cosmic evolution—and humanity’s place in it.