AstroCubeVR™

Visualization Tool for Astronomy Volumetric Datacubes

 

Available on Meta Quest Store

New to AstroCubeVR? See How to Load Your Own Data on Meta Quest for supported file formats, step-by-step transfer from your desktop to the headset, and tips for getting the best view of your data cubes.

The carbon monoxide (CO) emission from the Butterfly Nebula

AstroCubeVR is an immersive tool for exploring 3D astronomical datacubes on Meta Quest. Load FITS spectral line cubes from ALMA and other radio telescopes, and navigate through them with full spatial context.

• Interactive distance measurement. Measure directly in your data with real-time RA, Dec, and velocity display. Frequency data converts to velocity automatically via the Doppler formula. Labels render clearly on top of volume data.
• Multi-channel spectral line support. Load and compare multiple molecular emissions side by side in 3D. Each channel maintains its own WCS coordinate system. A velocity-normalized Z-axis aligns Doppler-shifted features across channels for direct comparison. Available tracers include:
— CO(2-1) — Carbon monoxide. Astronomy’s most widely used molecular emission line and the clearest view of cold molecular gas. A strong starting point for each nebula.
— ¹³CO(2-1) — A rarer carbon monoxide isotopologue that reveals gas structure hidden or saturated in the brighter main CO line.
— C¹⁸O(2-1) — Another rare CO variant that highlights denser or deeper regions of the molecular gas.
— CN(2-1) — Cyanogen radical emission, tracing chemically distinct regions in the nebula.
— CS(5-4) — Carbon monosulfide, associated with denser gas and adding another view of structural and chemical variation.
• Native FITS support. Load 3D FITS datacubes directly on Quest with full WCS header parsing and automatic voxel scaling. REST frequency detected from headers or ALMA-style filenames. No format conversion required.
• Smart data handling. Datasets of any size can be loaded — the app auto-optimizes oversized files to fit device memory using Gaussian filtering that preserves visual detail. Visual progress feedback during loading.
• Cloud data loading. Use the Quest Browser to download FITS files directly to your headset — from Google Drive, institutional servers, or any web source. ZIP files are extracted automatically. No PC required to get data into AstroCubeVR.
• Collaborative sessions. Share a virtual space with colleagues — explore the same datacube together in real time.
• Pre-loaded datasets. Includes curated ALMA observations of planetary nebulae: Hb 5, NGC 2440, NGC 2818, NGC 2899, NGC 3132, NGC 6302, NGC 6445, and NGC 6720. Multiple molecular tracers per object where available — CO, ¹³CO, C¹⁸O, CN, and CS. Data from published research (Moraga Baez et al. 2026, ApJ 998; Kastner et al. 2025, ApJ 991; Kastner et al. 2024, ApJ 965).
• Standalone on Meta Quest. Runs on Quest 2, Quest 3, and Quest Pro. No PC, no tether, no setup.
• Here’s a guide to downloading your own data from cloud storage to the Quest headset.

Who it’s for

Radio astronomers and graduate students working with spectral line datacubes — particularly data from facilities like ALMA. AstroCubeVR provides spatial intuition for 3D structures that flat channel maps and 2D slices cannot convey. Collaborative sessions let research teams explore the same dataset together in VR, making it a tool for group analysis and discussion — not just solo exploration.

Use cases

• Planetary nebulae — explore the 3D structure of expanding gas shells
• Molecular cloud studies — compare different molecular tracers in star-forming regions
• Teaching and outreach — visualize radio astronomy data in an intuitive 3D environment
• Data exploration — quickly identify features and measure positions in spectral cubes

Publications

The included datasets are drawn from peer-reviewed research:
• Moraga Baez et al. 2026, ApJ 998, 7 — ALMA mapping of multiple molecules in NGC 2440, NGC 6302, NGC 6445, and Hb 5
• Kastner et al. 2025, ApJ 991, 46 — SMA mapping of CO in NGC 6720 (Ring Nebula)
• Kastner et al. 2024, ApJ 965, 21 — SMA mapping of CO and CN in NGC 3132 (Southern Ring Nebula)

Questions or insights about the data? Contact Prof. Joel Kastner at joel.kastner@rit.edu.

Need full resolution?  A desktop version is available for large datasets that exceed headset memory. Contact support@immsci.com for details.

For more information please fill out this request

Acknowledgements:   AstroCubeVR  was developed by Immersive Science LLC, and refined through a collaboration with Rochester Institute of Technology, enabled by support to RIT from NASA’s Astrophysics Data Analysis Program.