In this image, derived from a supercomputer simulation of cosmological evolution, the spheres represent dark matter halos, color-coded by mass and sized in proportion to their radii. Stars indicate the locations of all halo collisions occurring over an interval of about 600 million years. Since each collision generates a starburst that lasts a relatively short time, only about one-sixth of the starbursts shown would be seen at any one time.

Illustration: Tsafrir Kolatt and coauthors

Return to article

To the Currents home page