Visualizing Astronomical Data with Blender
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Check out Poster P6.2 at the October 2014 ADASS meeting!
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Published in the journal P.A.S.P (click here for the paper or High res preprint)
Discussion on the blogosphere:
- astrocompute, astrobetter, astropython,
portaltotheuniverse,
Patrick Durusau
Astronomical data take on a multitude of forms - catalogs, data cubes, images,
and simulations. The availability of software for rendering high-quality
three dimensional graphics lends itself to the paradigm of exploring the incredible
parameter space afforded by the astronomical sciences. The software program
Blender gives astronomers a useful tool for displaying data in a manner used
by 3D graphics specialists and animators. The interface to this popular
software package is introduced with attention to features of interest in astronomy.
An overview of the steps for generating models, textures, animations, camera work, and renders is outlined. An introduction is presented on the methodology for producing animations
and graphics with a variety of astronomical data. Examples from
sub-fields of astronomy with different kinds of data are shown with resources
provided to members of the astronomical community.
An example video showcasing the outlined principles and features is provided
along with scripts and files for sample visualizations.
Example Blender files, Python scripts, and Tutorials