The evolution of the universe in a short video

A new animated video shows the evolution of the universe, from Big Bang to now in a little over a minute.

Wired's UK site picked up on the realistic computer simulation that was developed by researchers at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics (CfA) in collaboration with researchers at the Heidelberg Institute for Theoretical Studies (HITS) .

Volker Springel, the astrophysicist and expert in galaxy formation, explained to the website that to trace the evolution of 10 billion particles took the help of Harvard's Odyssey supercomputer. "Its 1,024 processor cores allowed the team to compress 14 billion years worth of cosmic history in the space of a few months."

The description on YouTube explains that the video was possible through special software called Arepo. "Arepo can accurately follow the birth and evolution of thousands of galaxies over billions of years. Arepo generates the full variety of galaxies seen locally, including majestic spirals like the Milky Way and Andromeda."

The result is a pretty cool video.