ESA Science & Technology - Gaia
A 500-day global observation campaign spearheaded more than three years ago by ESA’s galaxy-mapping powerhouse Gaia has provided unprecedented insights into the binary system of stars that caused an unusual brightening of an even more distant star.
ESA Science & Technology - Fact Sheet - European Space Agency
Gaia was adopted within the scientific programme of the European Space Agency (ESA) in October 2000. The mission aims to: measure the positions of about 1 billion stars both in our Galaxy and other members of the Local Group, with an accuracy down to 24 microarcseconds; perform spectral and photometric measurements of all objects
ESA Science & Technology - Summary - European Space Agency
Sep 1, 2019 · By constructing a detailed map of the stars, Gaia will provide a crucial tool to study the formation of our Galaxy, the Milky Way. While surveying the sky, Gaia is bound to make many other discoveries.
ESA Science & Technology - Gaia creates richest star map of our …
Apr 25, 2018 · ESA's Gaia mission has produced the richest star catalogue to date, including high-precision measurements of nearly 1.7 billion stars and revealing previously unseen details of our home Galaxy.
ESA Science & Technology - Gaia mission - European Space Agency
ESA's Gaia mission has one main goal, to map the Milky Way more extensively and with greater precision than any other mission to date. Using astrometry, the science of measuring the distance and motion of stars, Gaia will map a billion stars over a 5 year period to produce a comprehensive catalogue of measurements that will impact on most areas ...
ESA Science & Technology - Spacecraft - European Space Agency
Sep 1, 2019 · The Gaia spacecraft is comprised of three major functional modules: The Payload Module containing the optical instrument and all electronics required to manage its operation and process its raw data.
ESA Science & Technology - Objectives - European Space Agency
Gaia is designed with a single, primary goal in mind: to investigate the origin and subsequent evolution of our Galaxy, the Milky Way. To do this, it will conduct an astronomical census of 1 billion stars, allowing astronomers to build the most accurate three-dimensional map to date of the celestial objects in our Galaxy.
ESA Science & Technology - Gaia's new data takes us to the Milky …
Dec 3, 2020 · The motion of stars in the outskirts of our galaxy hints at significant changes in the history of the Milky Way. This and other equally fascinating results come from a set of papers that demonstrate the quality of ESA's Gaia Early third Data Release (EDR3), which is …
ESA Science & Technology - Galactic ghosts: Gaia uncovers major …
Oct 31, 2018 · ESA's Gaia mission has made a major breakthrough in unravelling the formation history of the Milky Way. Instead of forming alone, our Galaxy merged with another large galaxy early in its life, around 10 billion years ago.
ESA Science & Technology - Gaia: 'Go' for science - European …
Jul 29, 2014 · Following extensive in-orbit commissioning and several unexpected challenges, ESA's billion-star surveyor, Gaia, is now ready to begin its science mission.