Galaxy swirl

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Galaxy swirl

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Eight hundred points on three logarithmic arms, turning as one and squashed to an ellipse.

Each point is placed on one of three arms by a logarithmic spiral — angle is the log of radius, which is the relation that gives real galaxies their arms rather than the pinwheel a linear term produces — with a small random offset so the arms have width. The whole field shares one rotation term, so it turns rigidly rather than shearing. Vertical radius is scaled to seven-tenths, which reads as a disc seen at an angle rather than face on. The frame trail leaves each point a short arc behind it.

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Galaxy swirl · CreativePower