Star Blast: a VR tour of the outcome of stellar explosions
A standalone app which exploits the power of virtual reality for outreach and teaching projects in the framework of PHAROS scientific activities, has been released for public dissemination and distribution. The app, named "Star Blast: a VR tour of the outcome of stellar explosions", is based on the work of astronomers at the University of Palermo and INAF-Observatory of Palermo and can be downloaded here: https://pharos.ceformedsrl.it/
Star Blast offers an immersive experience inside 3-D MHD simulations and actual observations of supernova remnants and pulsar wind nebulae. Thanks to the possibility of navigating inside these powerful astrophysical sources and interacting with them (literally by using the hands), Star Blast provides a sensorial perception of the object under examination. This allows the user to explore in a deeply engaging way the structure and the physics of supernova remnants and pulsar wind nebulae. For each object, a voice-over provides short explanatory notes (available in English, Spanish and Italian), to ease the understanding for a non-professional audience, while a brief bibliography is available for further insights.
The app is designed to work with the most diffused virtual reality headsets (provided that SteamVR is installed). A demo showing a few features of Star Blast will be shortly available at the Pharos YouTube channel.