Daily News Analysis » Gaia Space Mission

Gaia Space Mission

Why in the News?

Recently, the third dataset released by the European Space Agency’s Gaia mission has revealed the surprise phenomena of ‘starquakes’.

Key Points:

Gaia Space Mission:

  • Gaia is an astronomical observatory mission launched in 2013 from Kourou, French Guiana

  • Launching Agency:  European Space Agency (ESA)

  • Objective: To create the most accurate and complete 3D map of the Milky Way by surveying 1% or one billion of the galaxy’s 100 billion stars

  • In the Gaia mission the following three techniques are used for observation: Astrometry, Photometry and Spectroscopy

Key Findings of Third Dataset:

  • ‘Starquakes’: These are similar to earthquake-like movements but on the surface of stars
  • It contains improved information on nearly two billion celestial objects-including stars in the Milky Way, objects outside the galaxy and those inside our solar system
  • Milky Way: It contains the largest-ever three-dimensional map of stars in the Milky Way
  • The map shows the chemical compositions as well as past and future movements of stars
  • Starquakes: One of the most surprising discoveries was that of more than 100,000 ‘starquakes’- which can be likened to tsunamis or massive vibrations on the surface of stars that can change their shape
  • Quasars: The new Gaia data has revealed the measurements of over a million confirmed quasars
  • The discovery of new quasars is significant as it helps to measure the most distant stretches of our universe
  • Position of Stars: The data shows chemical components, colours, brightness, velocity, temperatures, and positions of millions of stars
  • According to the ESA, astronomers hope to use the data to understand better how stars are born and die, and how the Milky Way evolved over billions of years
  • Binary Systems: The new data has revealed the position, distance, orbits, and masses of over 8,00,000 binary star systems

Key Terms

Astrometry

  •  Astrometry is the science of measuring the movement and position of stars within the plane of the sky, photometry studies the colour, brightness and other derived properties of stars

Spectroscopy 

  • Spectroscopy measures the radial velocity or the movement of stars towards or away from us by studying stellar spectra or the fingerprints of stars

Quasars 

  • Quasars are extraordinarily active and bright cores of galaxies powered by supermassive black holes
  • These are the most luminous objects in the universe and are visible along its distant edges

Binary Star Systems:

  • These are two stars that orbit each other around a shared centre

Significance of Gaia Mission:

  • Understanding Galaxy Evolution: This information allows astronomers to reconstruct the galaxy’s past and future evolution over billions of years
  • Tracing the Location of origin: The new set shows the radial velocity of 33 million stars, i.e. how fast are these stars moving towards, or away from us
  • This can not only help scientists figure out the trajectory of the stars, but also their location of origin
  • Astronomers hope to use the data to understand better how stars are born and die, and how the Milky Way evolved over billions of years