The Gaia mission: a billion stars at nano-radian precision

Anthony G. A. Brown

doi:10.1117/12.2590131

17 December 2020 The Gaia mission: a billion stars at nano-radian precision

Anthony G. A. Brown

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Proceedings Volume 11443, Space Telescopes and Instrumentation 2020: Optical, Infrared, and Millimeter Wave; 1144306 (2020) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2590131
Event: SPIE Astronomical Telescopes + Instrumentation, 2020, Online Only

Abstract

The Gaia satellite was launched at the end of 2013 to collect data that will allow the determination of highly accurate positions, parallaxes, and proper motions for over one billion sources brighter than magnitude 20.7, from the solar system to our Milky Way and beyond. I will discuss the astrometric measurement concept and the design considerations and engineering challenges that follow. I will also review the problems faced in practice during the mission which however did not prevent its phenomenal success, as will be demonstrated with a few scientific highlights.

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Anthony G. A. Brown "The Gaia mission: a billion stars at nano-radian precision", Proc. SPIE 11443, Space Telescopes and Instrumentation 2020: Optical, Infrared, and Millimeter Wave, 1144306 (17 December 2020); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2590131

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