Introduction

Why Shape?

Images inspire us. Images lead to ideas. We made Shape as a tool to test inspirations. Play True or False. By finding out whether an idea works or not, either way, with Shape you can find new insight into nature for yourself and others.

3-D visualizations of astrophysical objects and phenomena in science and the media are often made with non-scientific software or the result is too abstract most of the time. Shape combines both worlds, putting as much computational astrophysics as possible to the service of research and outreach.

Whether you are looking for profound scientific insight or photorealistic volumetric visualizations of what is going in the universe around us. the odds are you are in the right place.

Star forming region modeled with a mixtue of technques. There are four stars embedded in a giant dust cloud that reflect the light of the stars that have different temperature and luminosity generating a colorful reflection nebula. Two high speed jets are emanating from the environment of very young stars. The lower jet was precomputed with numerical hydrodynamics in the Hydro Module, whereas the jet at the top uses path object.

What makes Shape different?

We want Shape to be easy to handle and fast to learn, so you can quickly play with the results and change things, before an inspiration evaporates. Shape is different from other astrophysical modeling tools, since it is based on modern interactive 3-D modeling technology similar to the one used for special effects, video games and architectural visualization. We combined this technology with custom made rendering, visualization and plotting techniques drawn from numerical astrophysics.

Shape allows you to build astrophysical structures and processes in a controlled way from very simple structures to highly complex environments. They can either be static or variable and are build either from polygon meshes, hydrodynamic simulations or a combination of both. The combination of hydrodynamic models with polygon mesh objects in astrophysics is a unique feature of Shape.

Shape continuously evolves, following the users' ideas and needs. It is interactive and the physics is highly customizable through the interface and, make sure to note: all this without the need for programming by the user.