Scientific animation
Redshift-space distortions in large-scale structure
From real space to redshift space: how galaxy velocities reshape the apparent cosmic structure along the line of sight.
A galaxy distribution changes from blue points in real space to green points in redshift space. Annotations identify line-of-sight elongation from virial motions and compression from coherent infall.
- Duration
- 5.6 seconds
- Resolution
- 760 × 926
- Frame rate
- 20 fps
- Available formats
- MP4 / GIF
About this visualization
The animation moves an illustrative galaxy distribution between real space and redshift space. The transverse coordinates remain fixed while the positions along the line of sight shift according to the galaxies’ peculiar velocities.
What to look for
The annotated redshift-space view highlights two effects: Finger-of-God elongation associated with virial motions, and Kaiser compression associated with coherent infall. Blue points mark the real-space view; green points mark the redshift-space view.
Interpretation
As stated in the animation, distortion amplitudes are exaggerated for visual clarity. This is an illustrative Zel’dovich mock, not a fit to observational data. The original animated GIF and a video version are available for download. There is no audio narration; the explanation above describes the visual content.
Credit & citation
Reuse termsFor a slide, figure caption, or video credit, use:
Suggested citation
Hernan E. Noriega (2026). Redshift-space distortions in large-scale structure (Version 1.0) [Scientific animation]. https://henoriega.github.io/visualizations/redshift-space-distortions/
BibTeX
@misc{noriega2026rsd,
author = {Noriega, Hernan E.},
title = {Redshift-space distortions in large-scale structure},
year = {2026},
howpublished = {Scientific animation, version 1.0},
url = {https://henoriega.github.io/visualizations/redshift-space-distortions/}
}
Reuse & license
This visualization is available under CC BY 4.0. You may share and adapt it, including for commercial use, with attribution.
Credit Hernan E. Noriega, link to this page and the license, and indicate any changes. The license applies to this visualization and the download files listed on this page.