How did the rich Universe we see today come to be?
From the first stars to galaxies like our own Milky Way, the cosmos has been shaped over billions of years by the interplay between ordinary matter and mysterious dark matter.
In computational astrophysics, we recreate the Universe using some of the most powerful supercomputers in the world. These simulations model the processes that build cosmic and planetary structures across scales: from massive and tiny galaxies to stars, planets, and their moons.
By combining observations from telescopes with detailed virtual universes, we push the frontier of knowledge about the origins and evolution of the cosmos.
- Main site: https://universemakers.github.io/
- Galaxy Formation: https://universemakers.github.io/galform.html
- Large-Scale Structure & Cosmology: https://universemakers.github.io/lss_cosmo.html
- Milky Way: https://universemakers.github.io/milkyway.html
- Planets: https://universemakers.github.io/planets.html
Universe Makers is part of the Royal Society Summer Science Exhibition 2026.
We are a collaboration of researchers from Durham, Sussex, Portsmouth, Imperial, and partner institutions in the UK and internationally.
We build interactive, research-driven experiences that connect cutting-edge computational astrophysics with public engagement.