Durham scientists hail universe simulation

Scientists have exercised god-like powers by creating an entire universe of their own.

The man-made cosmos is a computer simulation in which galaxies similar to those observed by astronomers grow and evolve.

Two of the world's most powerful supercomputers - the "Cosmology Machine" at the University of Durham and "Curie" in Paris - were used to conduct the simulations, which took several months to run.

Previous attempts to model the formation of galaxies have met with little success, producing collections of stars that were often too massive, small, old or spherical.

Those produced in the Eagle (Evolution and Assembly of GaLaxies and their Environments) simulation are much more realistic.

One key to its success is the recreation of galactic winds - cosmic gas gales driven by stars, supernova explosions and supermassive black holes - which are stronger than those in earlier simulations, say the scientists.

Results from the research will appear in the journal Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society today (January 1).