AstroGrav Help / Sample Simulations / Abstract / Globular Cluster

Abstract / Globular Cluster

Introduction

This simulation shows a globular cluster of 401 identical stars.

How it was created

It was created by making a new simulation, and then using the Edit / Add Family... facility with the 3D Globular Cluster quick setup, edited to a radius of 1.0e9m, a luminosity of 1.0e27W, a mass of 1.0e30kg, and a semi-major axis from 1.0e13m to 1.0e17m.

What you can do with it

If you set the system running, you can watch how it evolves, and see how the globular cluster maintains the same general shape, while slowly expanding and occasionally losing particles which move off in hyperbolic orbits. The simulation contains only a tiny fraction of the number of stars in a real globular cluster, and this is the reason why the simulated globular cluster is less stable (slowly expands and occasionally loses particles) than a real one. The speed of the simulation is quite slow, and you may have to leave to it running for several hours.

Ideas for further investigation

You can create similar systems yourself, using the Edit / Add Family... facility with the 3D Globular Cluster quick setup, edited in various different ways. One possibility is to first edit the single star of the new simulation to be much more massive (eg 100x) in order to make the globular cluster more stable.