A £2 billion European probe that will map more than a billion stars in 3D has been launched into our galaxy.
The two-tonne observatory blasted into orbit on a Russian Soyuz rocket from the European space port in French Guiana at 09:12 GMT this morning.
Its five-year mission is one of the most ambitious in space history and its aim is to pinpoint millions of stars with unparalleled precision.
It is also hoped Gaia will discover thousands of previously unknown objects, including exploding stars, planets orbiting other suns, and nearby asteroids.

Scientists also hope Gaia will yield clues about mysterious dark matter and dark energy.
Dark matter is an invisible substance that glues galaxies together, yet cannot be detected other than by observing its gravitational effects.

Dark energy is a strange propulsive force that appears to be hard-wired into the fabric of space itself and is causing galaxies to fly apart at an accelerating rate.
The probe will also be able to detect far-off solar systems with their own families of planets, and, closer to home, spot potentially threatening asteroids whose orbits reach out as far as Earth.
British scientists and engineers have played key roles in the design and construction of the spacecraft, called Gaia.
The observatory will operate from a stable location 1.5 million kilometres from the Earth known as the L2 Lagrangian point.

Situated with the Earth shielding it from the Sun, the craft will be perfectly placed to observe the wider universe.
As it spins slowly, two telescopes will sweep across the entire sky and simultaneously focus their light on the largest digital camera ever put into space.
Gaia's predecessor was the Hipparcos satellite, pictured, which mapped around 100,000 stars

Mission scientist Professor Martin Barstow, from the University of Leicester, said: 'Gaia is one of the most exciting space missions I have worked on during my career.

Its survey of the Galaxy will be in unprecedented detail and the precision of the distance measurements it makes will transform astronomy and our understanding of the universe.'
Professor Gerry Gilmore, from Cambridge University, the UK's principal Gaia investigator, added: ‘The results from Gaia will revolutionise our understanding of the cosmos as never before.
‘Our understanding of what's out there has been driven by looking at what we can see.

'We've never had a genuine opportunity to look at everything, to know what's there, and to know where they are in relation to each other.
‘We don't even know how much we don't know - there are sure to be objects out there that don't even have names yet, since we don't yet realise how strange they are.’

‘This accuracy is equivalent to measuring a shirt button on the moon as seen from the Earth. It means we have to have the highest-capability computers to analyse the data.’


Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2526264/Gaia-lifts-Satellite-embarks-five-year-mission-map-Milky-Way-3D.html#ixzz2nv5b4IM2

safe journey

runzlord: safe journey

Amen

I know that stars surveyed by the Hipparcos satellite were given HIP numbers and formed the Hipparcos Catalogue (If you have ever used Stellarium, you'll know about HIP numbers. ). With this, I wonder if a Gaia Catalogue will be formed with objects having GAI numbers and if they would be incorporated into Stellarium.

A £2 billion European probe that will map more
than a billion stars in 3D has been launched into
our galaxy.

^^ This statement is quite misleading, it makes you think the probe is to be lauched out of the solar system and into interstellar space, but on reading further you find out that it is destined for the L2 Lagrangian point which is well within the Solar system, they should replace "galaxy" with "solar system". Lagrangian points are simply fascinating and L2 gets special attention because it is the only one that gets partial shielding from the sun (by the earth) making it a good vantage point for space observatiories looking into deep space.
Also, I had no idea Soyuz rockets are launched from Kourou
I always thought they were only launched from Baikonur, I must really be out of touch with astronomy and space science/tech.
OP thanks for the post, It brings back memories of when I was really crazy about these things, I remember my mother having to completely ban me from borrowing books (a lot of which were about space) from the school library - unless they were related to my studies - as WAEC/JAMB approached (God bless you Mom!). University took the sting out of it but I'm still holding on. I love stuff like this so OP keep them coming!