The European Space Agencys (ESA) Gaia Observatory is a mission devoted to astrometry, a branch of astronomy where the speed and correct motion of celestial items are determined for more information about the formation and development of the cosmos. For the previous eight and a half years, this space-based has been studying over 2 billion things in deep space. This includes stars in the Milky Way but likewise planets, comets, asteroids, and far-off galaxies. This info obtained by this objective will be utilized to develop the most-detailed 3D brochure of the Milky Way ever.
Considering that the mission started in 2013, two major catalogs have been launched, called Gaia Data Release 1 and 2 (DR1 and DR2), accompanied by a smaller information set– Early Data Release 3 (EDR3). On June 13th, Gaias 3rd full catalog (DR3) will be released, containing brand-new and better information for the 2 billion celestial objects it has been observing. The release will accompany a virtual press occasion hosted by the Gaia Data Processing and Analysis Consortium (DPAC), where featured speakers will share the significance of this newest release and how it revolutionizes our understanding of the galaxy.
Artists impression of the Gaia Observatory observing the Milky Way Galaxy. Credit: ESA
The Gaia DPAC consists of expert researchers and software designers from Europe and worldwide. In cooperation with the ESA, the Consortium is accountable for processing and evaluating Gaias data and producing the Gaia Catalogues. Journalism event will take location on Tuesday, June 12th, from 04:00 to 05:00 EDT (01:00 to 02:00 PDT). The event will feature a panel of speakers, which will include:
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The European Space Agencys (ESA) Gaia Observatory is a mission committed to astrometry, a branch of astronomy where the velocity and correct movement of celestial things are measured to discover more about the formation and advancement of the universes. Given that the objective started in 2013, two significant catalogs have been released, known as Gaia Data Release 1 and 2 (DR1 and DR2), accompanied by a smaller data set– Early Data Release 3 (EDR3). The release will correspond with a virtual press occasion hosted by the Gaia Data Processing and Analysis Consortium (DPAC), where included speakers will share the significance of this most current release and how it transforms our understanding of the galaxy.
In collaboration with the ESA, the Consortium is responsible for processing and evaluating Gaias information and producing the Gaia Catalogues. The occasion will be live-streamed via ESA WebTV, and media representatives are encouraged to download the Gaia DR3 Media Kit in advance.
Josef Aschbacher– ESA Director GeneralGünther Hasinger– ESA Director of ScienceTimo Prusti– Gaia Project ScientistAnthony Brown– Gaia Data Processing and Analysis Consortium ChairAntonella Vallenari– Gaia Data Processing and Analysis Consortium Chair Deputy ChairConny Aerts– Professor at Leuven University and member of the Gaia Collaboration
The DPAC has also organized a series of local events in 13 countries and many languages (English, French, German, Dutch, Spanish, and Italian). The event will be live-streamed via ESA WebTV, and media representatives are encouraged to download the Gaia DR3 Media Kit ahead of time. A complete overview of the DR3 occasions can be discovered here.
This latest information set (gathered from July 25th, 2014, to May 28th, 2017) contains improved info on the many stars Gaia observed throughout its objective, the majority of which includes newly-released spectroscopy that revealed the chemical structure, temperature level, color, mass, and age of these stars. The release likewise consisted of radial velocity measurements for 33 million stars, 5 times more than DR2. Brand-new in this dataset is info on thousands of Solar System things (like moons and asteroids), millions of galaxies and quasars outside the Milky Way, and the biggest catalog yet of binary stars in the Milky Way.
Cover page of the Gaia information launch 3 (DR3) media set. Credit: ESA
By mapping this, astronomers can likewise find out more about excellent movement, star formation, and how our galaxy developed over billions of years. This is where the Gaia All-sky Dust Map comes into play, a three-million-pixel map based on the correct movement and speeds of 470 million stars.
The largest-ever low-resolution spectroscopy surveyThe largest-ever radial speed surveyThe largest-ever collection of astrophysical data for stars in the Milky Way For lots of classes of variable stars: biggest survey everThe most extensive binary star study in the previous 2 centuriesThe highest-accuracy survey of asteroids which contains information on their compositions and orbitsThe very first space-based all-sky survey of quasars and galaxies in the Local UniverseA photometric survey of the Andromeda Galaxy
A series of 50 documents are also pending, 9 of which are specifically devoted to showing the excellent potential of this latest Gaia information release. This has actually always been the higher function of the Gaia Observatory: to respond to the deeper questions of cosmology and existence.
Further Reading: ESA
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