Miscellaneous

I expect this page to get filled over time (or not) with stuff that might be of general interest (or not) ...

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14.04.2015: Vogt+, MNRAS (2015): HI gas in HCG 91 from the VLA

Following the same concept introduced in Vogt+, ApJ (2014), here is the HI gas content of the compact group HCG 91 observed by the VLA. The dataset is described in Vogt+, MNRAS (2015), and in Verdes-Montenegro (2015, in prep.). The interaction buttons will let you interact with the data and display/hide specific parts of it at will.

 

 Viewpoints:
 
 
 
 
  Labels:
 
 
 
  HI layers:
 
 
 
 

 

 

 

Interested in creating your own interactive 3-D models ? It's much less hard than it (may) seem at first sight. It can be done using fully open-source software (i.e. Python!, or others), and a text editor. It also doesn't require specific knowledge beforehand. I have been leading the charge on a dedicated article describing the publication of interactive HTML documents in details (and other advanced multi-dimensional visualization techniques including 3-D printing and high-end animations). We call this the X3D pathway, and we think it can help the community visualize, share and publish complex datasets more easily and efficiently than before.

Oh, and of course, there's a bunch of complete examples and step-by-step instructions available online !

 

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24.06.2014: Vogt+ (2014): 3D interactive models made easy !

To support the visualization efforts with my latest article, I discovered the power of the X3D format. It gives anyone the ability to interact with 3-D models with a simple web browser (for specific browser support, see this page). Below is an example drawn from my work on 3-D line ratio diagrams. I won't enter the details here, they're all in the paper. But that should not stop you from testing the interactive model below ;-). The X3D file containing the model information was generated from the mayavi module in Python - and it's all for free !

 

 

  Viewpoints:
 
 
 
 
 
 Datasets:
 
 
 
 

 

 

 

 
Instructions: once the 3-D model has loaded, you can freely rotate it, zoom in/out and pan around. By clicking the appropriate buttons next to the model window, you will gain access to specific viewpoints of interest (see the paper for more details). You can also toogle on/off the different datasets, including the SDSS iso-density surface and the axes labels. Removing the SDSS iso-density surface will grant you an unobstructed view on the observations of the individual HII regions and the MAPPINGS IV simulation grid.

This page was constructed via X3DOM. Please note that ''the current implementation of the X3DOM fallback model needs an InstantReality plugin, a Flash11 plugin or a WebGL-enabled browser. WebGL-enabled web browsers are available for most platforms.''. Specifically, this model should work fine with Firefox, Safari, Chrome, and IE.
For specific browser support, see this page !

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24.03.2011: Starcatchers

This film was made in 2010 by four members of the Research School of Astronomy & Astrophysics at The Australian National University, and earned first prize in a video competition organized by the ANU College of Science. And if you wonder about my role, I was the devoted cameraman ...