http://www.sciencemag.org/news/2018/05/galaxy-simulations-are-last-matching-reality-and-producing-surprising-insights-cosmic

A view of the present-day cosmic web 300 million light-years across, as modeled by IllustrisTNG. Galaxies (gold) have blown off shocked gas (white).

Philip Hopkins, a theoretical astrophysicist at the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, likes to prank his colleagues. An expert in simulating the formation of galaxies, Hopkins sometimes begins his talks by projecting images of his creations next to photos of real galaxies and defying his audience to tell them apart. "We can even trick astronomers," says Hopkins, a leader of FIRE, the Feedback in Realistic Environments simulation. "Of course, it's not a guarantee that the models are accurate, but it's sort of a gut check that you're on the right track."