Abstract
Abstract In the study of large astronomical data sets, virtual reality (VR) can help build valuable spatial intuition for scientific discovery. We created VR visualizations of E+A galaxies and candidates in four nearby clusters of galaxies: Leo, Virgo, Hercules, and Coma. E+A's are a type of post-starburst galaxy in which all star formation has been recently (∼1 Gyr ago) quenched. Our E+A samples were assembled and cataloged by the Y/Dim collaboration through visual and quantitative analysis of SDSS DR16 spectra. The visualizations are designed for Oculus VR headsets, and utilize C# scripts which interface with the Unity engine, including public domain code and code developed by the lead author. We use these visualizations to find features of the aforementioned galaxy clusters: for instance, a “nose” of low velocity objects in the center of the Virgo cluster and a collection of E+A candidates along a galactic filament in the Coma cluster.
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