The European Space Agency’s (ESA) Gaia mission has successfully completed its primary goal: creating an unprecedented map of the Milky Way galaxy, spanning over 10 years of observations. The mission took more than three trillion data points from two billion stars and other celestial objects in our galaxy, producing the largest and most precise map to date.
Gaia’s findings have revolutionized scientists’ understanding of the galaxy, revealing that it has more than two spiral arms, which are less prominent than initially thought. The galactic bulge, containing the supermassive black hole Sagittarius A*, was also accurately mapped.
The mission’s data has led to the discovery of intriguing objects, including the heaviest stellar-mass black hole in the Milky Way and evidence suggesting that interactions between our galaxy and another may have occurred billions of years ago. Gaia’s observations have also refined our understanding of asteroid orbits and quasars, with precise measurements for over 150,000 asteroids.
As Gaia approaches the end of its fuel, it will be retired and placed in a new orbit. However, its legacy lives on through the data it has collected, which will continue to shape scientists’ understanding of the Milky Way galaxy. The ESA expects to release more data, including insights into exoplanets and binary star systems, in future releases.
Gaia’s retirement marks the end of an 11-year-long space journey, during which it survived micrometeorite impacts and solar storms. On March 27, the spacecraft will be passivated to prevent interference with other operational spacecraft.
Source: https://gizmodo.com/legendary-gaia-spacecraft-maps-entire-galaxy-promptly-retires-2000550606