Pinpointing Gaia to Map the Milky Way (Annotated)

This image, a composite of several observations captured by ESO’s VLT Survey Telescope (VST), shows the space observatory Gaia as a faint trail of dots across the lower half of the star-filled field of view. These observations were taken as part of an ongoing collaborative effort to measure Gaia’s orbit and improve the accuracy of its unprecedented star map.

The position of Gaia is shown in this annotated image.

Credit:

ESO

About the Image

Id:eso1908b
Type:Collage
Release date:2 May 2019, 15:00
Related releases:eso1908
Size:1241 x 761 px

About the Object

Name:Gaia
Type:Unspecified : Technology : Spacecraft
Category:Illustrations

Image Formats

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317.1 KB
Screensize JPEG
218.0 KB

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Colours & filters

BandWavelengthTelescope
Optical
r
625 nmVLT Survey Telescope
OmegaCAM