Visualization of 3D galaxy and quasar data

Abstract

Recent advances in observatory astronomy have brought in a large volume of high quality data about the very far end of our universe, including galaxy, clusters, quasars, etc. The aim of this project was to develop a visualization of these 3D data for possible inclusion in a digital planetarium project.

This report describes the terminologies in astronomy required for the understanding and processing of the data obtained from the datasets released by the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS). The use of OpenGL and C++ to develop modules for the modeling and rendering of said related data is also discussed.