The Milky Way, our home galaxy, has long been shrouded in mystery. With its faint clouds of light and shadow, it has captivated human imagination across cultures. However, our view of the galaxy is limited by our perspective. Until the launch of the Gaia spacecraft in 2013, we had a fragmented understanding of our galaxy.
Gaia’s mission aimed to create a detailed map of the Milky Way, precisely mapping over two billion stars and objects. This unprecedented data revealed that our galaxy is far more complex than previously thought. Stars tell a story of turbulent change driven by past galactic collisions and mergers.
The new data showed that the Milky Way is not a simple spiral disk but has a warped shape with dynamic behavior likely caused by interactions with other galaxies. It’s also filled with fainter arms, not two prominent ones, and features a central bulge with a unique spheroidal shape.
Gaia’s legacy lives on through the vast dataset it gathered over 12 years. The European Space Agency will release additional data in the future, offering an even more detailed mapping of our galaxy. The spacecraft itself is now retired, but its impact on our understanding of the Milky Way will continue to be felt for generations to come.
Source: https://www.universetoday.com/articles/its-mission-over-gaia-rides-off-into-the-sunset