First Light for the Millennium Run Observatory by Cmarchesin.
From the post:
The famous Millennium Run (MR) simulations now appear in a completely new light – literally. The project, led by Gerard Lemson of the MPA and Roderik Overzier of the University of Texas, combines detailed predictions from cosmological simulations with a virtual observatory in order to produce synthetic astronomical observations. In analogy to the moment when newly constructed astronomical observatories receive their “first light”, the Millennium Run Observatory (MRObs) has produced its first images of the simulated universe. These virtual observations allow theorists and observers to analyse the purely theoretical data in exactly the same way as they would purely observational data. Building on the success of the Millennium Run Database, the simulated observations are now being made available to the wider astronomical community for further study. The MRObs browser – a new online tool – allows users to explore the simulated images and interact with the underlying physical universe as stored in the database. The team expects that the advantages offered by this approach will lead to a richer collaboration between theoretical and observational astronomers.
At least with simulated observations, there is no need to worry about cloudy nights. 😉
Interesting in its own right but also as an example of yet another tool for data mining, that of simulation.
Not in the sense of generating “test” data but of deliberating altering data and then measuring the impact of the alterations on data mining tools.
Quite possibly in a double blind context where only some third party knows which data sets were “altered” until all tests have been performed.
Millennium Run Observatory Web Portal and access to the MRObs browser