Globular Cluster Collision

This simulation shows two globular clusters on a collision course, each containing 401 identical stars. It was created by making a new simulation, and then using the Edit / Add Family... command with the '3D Globular Cluster' quick setup, edited to a radius of 1.0e9 m, a luminosity of 1.0e27 W, a mass of 1.0e30 kg, and a semi-major axis from 1.0e13 m to 1.0e17 m. To create the core star of the second globular cluster, the object at the head of the tree was then selected, and the Edit / Add Object... command used, edited to a radius of 1.0e9 m, a luminosity of 1.0e27 W, a mass of 1.0e30 kg, a semi-major axis of 1.0e18 m, an eccentricity of 0.95, and a true anomaly of -2.75 rad. The rest of the second globular cluster was then created in the same way as the first globular cluster was created. The object at the head of the second globular cluster's structure tree (B/282) was then edited to a semi-major axis of 1.0e18 m, an eccentricity of 0.95, and a true anomaly of -2.75 rad.

If you set the simulation running, you can watch how it evolves, and see how the two globular clusters pass through each other relatively unscathed, but then later merge into a single large globular cluster. The speed of the simulation is quite slow, and you may have to leave to it running for several minutes before the interaction of the two clusters is completed.

Since different computers run at different speeds, you may need to edit the evolution time step to get the simulation to run at an acceptable rate.

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