Researchers use VR to simulate black hole

Ina bid to better understand how black holes behave, researchers have created a virtual reality (VR) simulation of Sagittarius A, the black hole at the centre of our galaxy. The researchers used recent astrophysical models of Sagittarius A to create a series of images that were then put together to create a 360 degree VR simulation of the black hole. The simulation can be viewed on widely available VR consoles.

“Our virtual reality simulation creates one of the most realistic views of the direct surroundings of the black hole and will help us to learn more about how black holes behave,” said corresponding author of the study Jordy Davelaar from Radboud University in the Netherlands. “Travelling to a black hole in our lifetime is impossible, so immersive visualisations like this can help us understand more about these systems from where we are,” Davelaar said.

The authors also suggested that the VR simulation could help encourage the general public, including children, to take an interest in astrophysics. “The visualisations that we produced have a great potential for outreach. We used them to introduce children to the phenomenon of black holes, and they really learned something from it,” Davelaar said. “This suggests that immersive virtual reality visualisations are a great tool to show our work to a broader audience, even when it involves very complicated systems like black holes,” Davelaar added.