Improving the visualization of galactic events using Pixarʼs RenderMan

Abstract

Pixar’s PhotoRealistic RenderMan® is a powerful graphics rendering system with underexplored potential for visualizing scientific data. We utilized PhotoRealistic RenderMan® to visualize simulations of galaxy mergers which are dynamic and contain large volumes of multidimensional data. Our goal was to emulate existing astronomical imagery such as images captured by the Hubble Space Telescope. In order to accomplish this we developed techniques for rendering individual stars and also took into account factors such as galaxy density. PhotoRealistic RenderMan® was used to create a movie from the provided galaxy merger data. In this paper we describe our approach and present the results. We also discuss how the rendering framework can be extended to incorporate the effects of light bending due to gravity.