Shape: A 3D Modeling Tool for Astrophysics

Shape is a flexible interactive 3D morpho-kinematical modeling application for astrophysics. It reduces the restrictions on the physical assumptions, data type and amount required for a reconstruction of an object's morphology. It applies interactive graphics and allows astrophysicists to provide a-priori knowledge about the object by interactively defining 3D structural elements. By direct comparison of model prediction with observational data, model parameters can then be automatically optimized to fit the observation.