Smithsonian scientists just recreated the first 2 billion years of the Universe

Scientists have created one of the largest and most detailed simulations of the early universe ever made, offering an extraordinary new glimpse into the cosmos shortly after the Big Bang. Called Lumina, the groundbreaking simulation recreates the universe’s first 2 billion years, showing how dark matter, gas, and radiation interacted to give rise to the earliest stars, galaxies, and black holes. Smithsonian scientists just recreated the first 2 billion years of the Universe.

Smithsonian scientists just recreated the first 2 billion years of the Universe Science News from research organizations Smithsonian scientists just recreated the first 2 billion years of the Universe New model gives astronomers a powerful tool to understand discoveries from NASA’s James Webb and Nancy Roman space telescopes. The fine filaments represent dark matter, and the warm orange and yellow tones highlight where gas is moving the fastest between galaxy clusters. Known as "Lumina," the simulation was built by researchers at the Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian to help astronomers interpret observations from powerful instruments such as the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) and Nancy Roman Space Telescope.

The research, published in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, reconstructs the universe’s first 2 billion years by modeling the interactions between ordinary matter, dark matter, and radiation. By comparing Lumina’s predictions with observations from JWST, Roman, and other telescopes, scientists can evaluate how well existing theories explain cosmic evolution and identify discoveries that might challenge their understanding of the universe’s fundamental laws. Astronomers have spent centuries studying the sky and developing explanations for the formation of stars, galaxies, and other cosmic structures.

Modern supercomputers now make it possible to turn these ideas into detailed simulations that predict how the universe should behave.