Automated Astrophysical Modeling with Shape

Abstract

Three-dimensional models of complex astrophysical objects like galaxies or planetary nebulae have numerous applications in science, education and entertainment. The large distance of these objects, however, makes it difficult to obtain depth information, and conventional image-based 3D reconstruction algorithms and modeling tools are most often not able to faithfully reproduce their structure. Modeling is therefore typically performed manually by trained astronomers using specialized tools that incorporate additional information like spectral Doppler shift measurements into the modeling process. We present an extension to one such tool, Shape, that alleviates the most tedious part of the modeling process by automatically optimizing consistency of the models with observational data. Our contribution significantly reduces the necessary time for obtaining high-quality models and will be incorporated into future releases of Shape.