From Gaia observations to astrophysical properties: the life of a star (Gaia Data Release 3) ESA Gaia Mission 2026-09-23 | From Gaia observations to astrophysical properties: the life of a star (Gaia Data Release 3)
Massive star being ripped apart by a supermassive black hole ESA Gaia Mission 2025-06-04 | A new class of Extreme Nuclear Transient events was discovered thanks to the European Space Agency's Gaia mission and the Zwicky Transient Facility. The events were followed up by observatories from across the globe. This artist impression, created by the Keck Observatory, shows a massive star being ripped apart by a supermassive black hole. The phenomenon believed to fuel the Extreme Nuclear Transient Event. Events which are currently the most explosive events known in the Universe (apart from the Big Bang).On 4 June 2025, a story was published on Gaia Cosmos "New transient event class found with Gaia: Extreme Nuclear Transients" here: https://www.cosmos.esa.int/web/gaia/iow_20250604
Massive star being ripped apart by a supermassive black hole ESA Gaia Mission 2025-06-04 | A new class of Extreme Nuclear Transient events was discovered thanks to the European Space Agency's Gaia mission and the Zwicky Transient Facility. The events were followed up by observatories from across the globe. This artist impression, created by the Keck Observatory, shows a massive star being ripped apart by a supermassive black hole. The phenomenon believed to fuel the Extreme Nuclear Transient Event. Events which are currently the most explosive events known in the Universe (apart from the Big Bang).On 4 June 2025, a story was published on Gaia Cosmos "New transient event class found with Gaia: Extreme Nuclear Transients" here: https://www.cosmos.esa.int/web/gaia/iow_20250604
Final goodbye to Gaia from China ESA Gaia Mission 2025-06-04 | Between 15 January 2025 and end of March 2025, the Gaia spacecraft was performing technology tests and became temporarily brighter in the sky with a magnitude of about 15. Citizen astronomers were invited to follow-up on Gaia through this webpage: https://www.cosmos.esa.int/web/gaia/observe-gaia Observations of the Gaia spacecraft over two hours before fading away at 16:32 UTC on 4 March 2025. This was the last moment Gaia was at increased brightness and Gaia is seen to disappear while the solar aspect angle is fast increasing at 16:32 UTC. The observations were conducted using an 11 inch telescope in Beijing (MPC site code P13) by Zhuoxiao Wang.This observation is published on this page: https://www.cosmos.esa.int/web/gaia/ground-based-observations-of-gaia-spacecraft-2025 Video credits: Zhuoxiao Wang
Gaia passivation: switching off Gaia focal plane ESA Gaia Mission 2025-06-04 | The Gaia spacecraft was moved into its retirement orbit and passivated on 27 March 2025. More information on this milestone is shared here: https://www.cosmos.esa.int/web/gaia/iow_20250327The spacecraft's payload was carefully switched off... a final goodbye from Gaia.Copyright: ESA/Gaia
Gaia passivation ESA Gaia Mission 2025-06-04 | The Gaia spacecraft was moved into its retirement orbit on 27 March 2025 and passivated. The final step of the passivation was to switch off the communication link with the spacecraft. Here we see the signal going down.Copyright: ESAPublished in view of the Gaia passivation event. More information https://www.cosmos.esa.int/web/gaia/iow_20250327
Gaias Milky Way ESA Gaia Mission 2025-01-15 | Animation of our Milky Way. Credits: ESA/Gaia/DPAC, Stefan Payne-Wardenaar - CC BY-SA 3.0 IGOThis is a new artist impression of our galaxy, the Milky Way, based on data from ESA’s Gaia space telescope. Gaia has changed our impression of the Milky Way. Even seemingly simple ideas about the nature of our galaxy’s central bar and the number of spiral arms have been overturned. For example, Gaia has shown us that it has more than two spiral arms and that they are less prominent than we previously thought. In addition, its central bar is more inclined with respect to the Sun, and the connection points between the bar and the arms are different to what was previously assumed. No spacecraft can travel beyond our galaxy, so we can’t take a selfie, but Gaia is giving us the best insight yet of what our home galaxy looks like. Once all of Gaia’s observations collected over the past decade are made available in two upcoming data releases, we can expect an even sharper view of the Milky Way.This animation is part of a set of Milky Way visuals as published here: https://www.cosmos.esa.int/web/gaia/milky-way on 15 January 2025.
Gaias Milky Way ESA Gaia Mission 2025-01-15 | Gaia's Milky WayThis is a new animation of our galaxy, the Milky Way, based on data from ESA’s Gaia space telescope. It shows our Milky Way from different sides, its companions and the many streams found thanks to Gaia.Gaia has changed our impression of the Milky Way. Even seemingly simple ideas about the nature of our galaxy’s central bar and the number of spiral arms have been overturned. For example, Gaia has shown us that it has more than two spiral arms and that they are less prominent than we previously thought. In addition, its central bar is more inclined with respect to the Sun, and the connection points between the bar and the arms are different to what was previously assumed. No spacecraft can travel beyond our galaxy, so we can’t take a selfie, but Gaia is giving us the best insight yet of what our home galaxy looks like. Once all of Gaia’s observations collected over the past decade are made available in two upcoming data releases, we can expect an even sharper view of the Milky WayThis animation was published on 15 January 2025 as part of Gaia's end of science observations (https://www.esa.int/Science_Exploration/Space_Science/Gaia/Last_starlight_for_ground-breaking_Gaia), and is part of a set of visuals shared here: https://www.cosmos.esa.int/web/gaia/milky-way.Also published here: https://www.esa.int/ESA_Multimedia/Videos/2025/01/The_best_Milky_Way_animation_by_Gaia
Orbit of an interesting duo found by Gaia: L subdwarf with WD companion, belonging to the halo ESA Gaia Mission 2024-08-20 | This video was published along with the story "Gaia discovers interesting duo in the Milky Way halo: an ultracool subdwarf with a white dwarf companion" as published here: https://www.cosmos.esa.int/web/gaia/iow_20240820It showcases the results from the paper "Primeval very low-mass stars and brown dwarfs - VIII. The first age benchmark L subdwarf, a wide companion to a halo white dwarf " as published here: https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2024MNRAS.tmp.1838Z/abstractThe background image is the spiral structure of the Milky Way based on Gaia DR3, published here: https://www.esa.int/ESA_Multimedia/Images/2023/12/Top-down_view_of_the_Milky_Way (Credits: ESA/Gaia/DPAC, Stefan Payne-Wardenaar, CC BY-SA 4.0 IGO).The video presents the orbital motion of the wide binary system VVV 1256−62AB (represented with a filled circle) from the past 2Gyr (cyan curves) to the future 2Gyr (red curves) in [X, Y] (upper panel) and [Y, Z] (lower panel) space. The location of the Sun is indicated with a five-pointed star. Credits: Roberto Raddi, Zenghua Zhang, MNRAS.
Tidal evolution history of a binary star system ESA Gaia Mission 2024-08-15 | Artist's impression of orbital circularization of a binary star system containing a red-giant star due to tidal interaction based on results from "Constraining stellar and orbital co-evolution through ensemble seismology of solar-like oscillators in binary systems" (Beck et al. 2024, A&A 682, A7).The artist’s impression illustrates the evolution of a binary system from the early phases of the red giant phase, when the red-giant star just starts to expand (left panel, red giant phase), to the more advanced phases, where the red giant already has ignited its core helium (right panel, red clump phase). Each panel shows on the left the orbits of the stellar components around the common center of gravity of the system. The right diagram shows the evolution of the radius for two stars of approximately the mass of the Sun. Published along with the story "How binary stars change their stellar dance with age" on Gaia CosmosCredits: Animation created by Lukas Steinwender based on P. Beck et al. 2024, A&A 682, A7 - CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/igo)RESOURCES--------------------Beck et al. 2024, A&A 682, A7: https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2024A%26A...682A...7B/abstract
Gaia neutron star candidates ESA Gaia Mission 2024-05-28 | This video was published along with a story on Gaia Cosmos: Did Gaia find its first neutron star?: https://www.cosmos.esa.int/web/gaia/iow_20240528This video shows the orbits of several binary star systems, which consist of a luminous component (identified with a star) and most probably a small dark component like a neutron star (identified with cyan point).The orbits are shown of both the luminous component and the dark component about their mutual centre of mass.The forecasted Gaia observations over this period of the luminous component are plotted on top of these orbits, in red dots.These candidate neutron stars are being followed up spectroscopically to verify if they are indeed neutron stars.Video credits: Kareem El-Badry - CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO.creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/igo
Gaia’s discovery of a massive black hole in our Milky Way: Gaia BH3 (long – no voice - music) ESA Gaia Mission 2024-04-16 | Visualisation of the Gaia BH3 system showing its orbit and the motion of the system in our Galaxy. The video also describes the discovery in more detail.More details on Gaia BH3 discovery: https://www.cosmos.esa.int/web/gaia/iow_20240416Credits: ESA/Gaia/DPAC, CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/igo)Acknowledgements: Video Animation: Stefan Jordan, Toni Sagristá - Text: Stefan Jordan, Pasquale Panuzzo, Ulrich Bastian, Tineke Roegiers, Berry Holl - Artificial voice was created with ttsmp3.com - The video was produced by Stefan Jordan and Toni Sagristà Sellés with Gaia Sky. (http://www.zah.uni-heidelberg.de/gaia/outreach/gaiasky) - This video visualises the content of the paper "Discovery of a dormant 33 solar-masses black hole in pre-release Gaia astrometry" by Gaia Collaboration, et al., published in April 2024 in Astronomy & Astrophysics Letters.The Gaia space observatory, operated by the European Space Agency (ESA), uncovered a remarkable find within the constellation Aquila. Initially, Gaia detected what seemed to be a solitary, ageing giant star in that celestial region. During the validation process, which covers over 5.5 years of observations, a remarkable discovery has come to light. The data hinted at the existence of a massive, unseen companion.The peculiar movement of the observed star diverged significantly from what's anticipated for a solitary stellar system, leading scientists to infer the presence of a black hole as the most plausible explanation. Through rigorous analysis, researchers determined that this black hole, dubbed Gaia BH3, boasts an astonishing mass roughly 33 times that of our Sun, making it the most massive of its kind originating from a star within our galaxy known today.This celestial pair exhibits a captivating orbital interplay. The giant star and the black hole engage in a gravitational duet, circling a shared centre of mass approximately every 11.6 years. At their closest encounter, they approach each other to a mere 4.5 astronomical units (equivalent to the distance between the Sun and Jupiter), while at their farthest, they stretch nearly 29 astronomical units apart, resembling the gap between the Sun and Neptune.Additionally, the chemical composition of the observed star offers valuable insights into its evolutionary journey. Its scarcity of heavy elements beyond hydrogen and helium suggests a distinctive origin and developmental path.Unlike the majority of stars in the Milky Way, which orbit within the Galactic plane, Gaia BH3 travels on a retrograde trajectory, opposite to the galactic flow and bringing it also far away from the Galactic plane in millions of years. Furthermore, it is part of a group of stars in the Galactic halo, which is believed to have been accreted by our own Galaxy more than 8 billion years ago.This groundbreaking discovery not only illuminates the mechanisms behind the formation and progression of massive black holes but also serves to validate theoretical models in stellar astrophysics. It marks a significant milestone in our understanding of black holes, with the promise of further revelations as the Gaia mission continues to collect and process data.
Gaias discovery of a massive black hole in our Milky Way: Gaia BH3 (short - music) ESA Gaia Mission 2024-04-16 | Visualisation of the Gaia BH3 system showing its orbit and the motion of the system in our Galaxy. The video also describes the discovery in more detail.More details on Gaia BH3 discovery: https://www.cosmos.esa.int/web/gaia/iow_20240416This video is a shortened version of the longer video that can be found here: youtu.be/cU00B-6DeSQCredits: ESA/Gaia/DPAC, CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/igo)Acknowledgements: Video Animation: Stefan Jordan, Toni Sagristá - Text: Stefan Jordan, Pasquale Panuzzo, Ulrich Bastian, Tineke Roegiers, Berry Holl - Artificial voice was created with ttsmp3.com - The video was produced by Stefan Jordan and Toni Sagristà Sellés with Gaia Sky. (http://www.zah.uni-heidelberg.de/gaia/outreach/gaiasky) - This video visualises the content of the paper "Discovery of a dormant 33 solar-masses black hole in pre-release Gaia astrometry" by Gaia Collaboration, et al., published in April 2024 in Astronomy & Astrophysics Letters.The Gaia space observatory, operated by the European Space Agency (ESA), uncovered a remarkable find within the constellation Aquila. Initially, Gaia detected what seemed to be a solitary, ageing giant star in that celestial region. During the validation process, which covers over 5.5 years of observations, a remarkable discovery has come to light. The data hinted at the existence of a massive, unseen companion.The peculiar movement of the observed star diverged significantly from what's anticipated for a solitary stellar system, leading scientists to infer the presence of a black hole as the most plausible explanation. Through rigorous analysis, researchers determined that this black hole, dubbed Gaia BH3, boasts an astonishing mass roughly 33 times that of our Sun, making it the most massive of its kind originating from a star within our galaxy known today.This celestial pair exhibits a captivating orbital interplay. The giant star and the black hole engage in a gravitational duet, circling a shared centre of mass approximately every 11.6 years. At their closest encounter, they approach each other to a mere 4.5 astronomical units (equivalent to the distance between the Sun and Jupiter), while at their farthest, they stretch nearly 29 astronomical units apart, resembling the gap between the Sun and Neptune.Additionally, the chemical composition of the observed star offers valuable insights into its evolutionary journey. Its scarcity of heavy elements beyond hydrogen and helium suggests a distinctive origin and developmental path.Unlike the majority of stars in the Milky Way, which orbit within the Galactic plane, Gaia BH3 travels on a retrograde trajectory, opposite to the galactic flow and bringing it also far away from the Galactic plane in millions of years. Furthermore, it is part of a group of stars in the Galactic halo, which is believed to have been accreted by our own Galaxy more than 8 billion years ago.This groundbreaking discovery not only illuminates the mechanisms behind the formation and progression of massive black holes but also serves to validate theoretical models in stellar astrophysics. It marks a significant milestone in our understanding of black holes, with the promise of further revelations as the Gaia mission continues to collect and process data.
Gaias discovery of a massive black hole in our Milky Way: Gaia BH3 (long version - no sound) ESA Gaia Mission 2024-04-16 | Visualisation of the Gaia BH3 system showing its orbit and the motion of the system in our Galaxy. The video also describes the discovery in more detail.More details on Gaia BH3 discovery: https://www.cosmos.esa.int/web/gaia/iow_20240416Credits: ESA/Gaia/DPAC, CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/igo)Acknowledgements: Video Animation: Stefan Jordan, Toni Sagristá - Text: Stefan Jordan, Pasquale Panuzzo, Ulrich Bastian, Tineke Roegiers, Berry Holl - Artificial voice was created with ttsmp3.com - The video was produced by Stefan Jordan and Toni Sagristà Sellés with Gaia Sky. (http://www.zah.uni-heidelberg.de/gaia/outreach/gaiasky) - This video visualises the content of the paper "Discovery of a dormant 33 solar-masses black hole in pre-release Gaia astrometry" by Gaia Collaboration, et al., published in April 2024 in Astronomy & Astrophysics Letters.The Gaia space observatory, operated by the European Space Agency (ESA), uncovered a remarkable find within the constellation Aquila. Initially, Gaia detected what seemed to be a solitary, ageing giant star in that celestial region. During the validation process, which covers over 5.5 years of observations, a remarkable discovery has come to light. The data hinted at the existence of a massive, unseen companion.The peculiar movement of the observed star diverged significantly from what's anticipated for a solitary stellar system, leading scientists to infer the presence of a black hole as the most plausible explanation. Through rigorous analysis, researchers determined that this black hole, dubbed Gaia BH3, boasts an astonishing mass roughly 33 times that of our Sun, making it the most massive of its kind originating from a star within our galaxy known today.This celestial pair exhibits a captivating orbital interplay. The giant star and the black hole engage in a gravitational duet, circling a shared centre of mass approximately every 11.6 years. At their closest encounter, they approach each other to a mere 4.5 astronomical units (equivalent to the distance between the Sun and Jupiter), while at their farthest, they stretch nearly 29 astronomical units apart, resembling the gap between the Sun and Neptune.Additionally, the chemical composition of the observed star offers valuable insights into its evolutionary journey. Its scarcity of heavy elements beyond hydrogen and helium suggests a distinctive origin and developmental path.Unlike the majority of stars in the Milky Way, which orbit within the Galactic plane, Gaia BH3 travels on a retrograde trajectory, opposite to the galactic flow and bringing it also far away from the Galactic plane in millions of years. Furthermore, it is part of a group of stars in the Galactic halo, which is believed to have been accreted by our own Galaxy more than 8 billion years ago.This groundbreaking discovery not only illuminates the mechanisms behind the formation and progression of massive black holes but also serves to validate theoretical models in stellar astrophysics. It marks a significant milestone in our understanding of black holes, with the promise of further revelations as the Gaia mission continues to collect and process data.
Gaia Black Hole 3: Astrometry versus spectroscopy ESA Gaia Mission 2024-04-16 | On 16 April, the Gaia Collaboration announced the discovery of Gaia Black Hole 3 or Gaia BH3. Find more details here: https://www.cosmos.esa.int/web/gaia/iow_20240416 .This animation gives a view of the orbit of Gaia BH3 and its companion star, as projected on the sky (on the left), and the evolution of the radial velocity of the companion star (on the right).Gaia’s observations, both astrometry (left) and spectroscopy (right) are highlighted while time runs from 2013 to 2025. The Gaia data used in this work and in the Data Release 4 cover the time between 25th July 2014 and 20 January 2020, for a total of 5.5 years. The spectroscopic view show also ground-based radial velocities taken in November 2020 and July 2023.The paper discussing the finding of Gaia BH3 during the validation of preliminary data from Gaia Data Release 4 is published on 16 April 2024 as forthcoming article in A&A. Credits: ESA/Gaia/DPACLicense: CC BY-SA 3.0 IGOAcknowledgements: P. Panuzzo CNRS/Observatoire de Paris/PSL
Gaias black holes: comparison of orbits (dark version) ESA Gaia Mission 2024-04-16 | On 16 April, the Gaia Collaboration announced the discovery of Gaia Black Hole 3 or Gaia BH3. Find more details here: https://www.cosmos.esa.int/web/gaia/iow_20240416 .This animation gives a comparison of the orbits of Gaia’s black holes and their companion stars. To give insight in the size of the orbit, the orbits of the Gaia BH3 system are projected onto the Solar System, with the Sun in the zero point. Gaia’s black holes are dormant black holes detected due to the wobble seen in the position and motion of its companion star. It can be clearly seen that the star orbiting Gaia BH3 is in a wide orbit around their mutual centre of mass. These wider orbits are more easily distinguishable with longer periods of observations. The orbital period of 11.6 years is about twice the period of observations that form the base for Gaia Data Release 4 (which will be based on 5,5 years of data).Gaia BH1 was detected in 2022 following Gaia’s Data Release 3, a catalogue based on 34 months of Gaia data. It is the closest black hole to Earth at approximately 1560 light years away. Find more details here: https://www.cosmos.esa.int/web/Gaia/iow_20221104Gaia BH2 was detected in 2023, also using Gaia’s data release 3. At the time of its discovery, it was the second closest black hole to Earth at approximately 3800 light years away. Find more details here: https://www.esa.int/Science_Exploration/Space_Science/Gaia/Gaia_discovers_a_new_family_of_black_holesGaia BH3 was detected during the validation of Gaia’s preliminary data while preparing Gaia Data Release 4, a catalogue that will be based on 66 months of Gaia data. The paper discussing the finding is published on 16th April as forthcoming article in A&A. Gaia BH3 is located at approximately 2000 light years away, which makes it the second closest black hole known today.Credits: ESA/Gaia/DPACLicense: CC BY-SA 3.0 IGOAcknowledgements: P. Panuzzo CNRS/Observatoire de Paris/PSL
Gaias black holes: comparison of orbits ESA Gaia Mission 2024-04-16 | On 16 April, the Gaia Collaboration announced the discovery of Gaia Black Hole 3 or Gaia BH3. Find more details here: https://www.cosmos.esa.int/web/gaia/iow_20240416 .This animation gives a comparison of the orbits of Gaia’s black holes and their companion stars. To give insight in the size of the orbit, the orbits of the Gaia BH3 system are projected onto the Solar System, with the Sun in the zero point. Gaia’s black holes are dormant black holes detected due to the wobble seen in the position and motion of its companion star. It can be clearly seen that the star orbiting Gaia BH3 is in a wide orbit around their mutual centre of mass. These wider orbits are more easily distinguishable with longer periods of observations. The orbital period of 11.6 years is about twice the period of observations that form the base for Gaia Data Release 4 (which will be based on 5,5 years of data).Gaia BH1 was detected in 2022 following Gaia’s Data Release 3, a catalogue based on 34 months of Gaia data. It is the closest black hole to Earth at approximately 1560 light years away. Find more details here: https://www.cosmos.esa.int/web/Gaia/iow_20221104Gaia BH2 was detected in 2023, also using Gaia’s data release 3. At the time of its discovery, it was the second closest black hole to Earth at approximately 3800 light years away. Find more details here: https://www.esa.int/Science_Exploration/Space_Science/Gaia/Gaia_discovers_a_new_family_of_black_holesGaia BH3 was detected during the validation of Gaia’s preliminary data while preparing Gaia Data Release 4, a catalogue that will be based on 66 months of Gaia data. The paper discussing the finding is published on 16th April as forthcoming article in A&A. Gaia BH3 is located at approximately 2000 light years away, which makes it the second closest black hole known today.Credits: ESA/Gaia/DPACLicense: CC BY-SA 3.0 IGOAcknowledgements: P. Panuzzo CNRS/Observatoire de Paris/PSL
Gaia Black Hole 3: Astrometry versus spectroscopy (dark version) ESA Gaia Mission 2024-04-16 | On 16 April, the Gaia Collaboration announced the discovery of Gaia Black Hole 3 or Gaia BH3. Find more details here: https://www.cosmos.esa.int/web/gaia/iow_20240416 .This animation gives a view of the orbit of Gaia BH3 and its companion star, as projected on the sky (on the left), and the evolution of the radial velocity of the companion star (on the right).Gaia’s observations, both astrometry (left) and spectroscopy (right) are highlighted while time runs from 2013 to 2025. The Gaia data used in this work and in the Data Release 4 cover the time between 25th July 2014 and 20 January 2020, for a total of 5.5 years. The spectroscopic view show also ground-based radial velocities taken in November 2020 and July 2023.The paper discussing the finding of Gaia BH3 during the validation of preliminary data from Gaia Data Release 4 is published on 16 April 2024 as forthcoming article in A&A. Credits: ESA/Gaia/DPACLicense: CC BY-SA 3.0 IGOAcknowledgements: P. Panuzzo CNRS/Observatoire de Paris/PSL
Gaias discovery of a massive black hole in our Milky Way: Gaia BH3 (short - voice - music) ESA Gaia Mission 2024-04-16 | Visualisation of the Gaia BH3 system showing its orbit and the motion of the system in our Galaxy. The video also describes the discovery in more detail.More details on Gaia BH3 discovery: https://www.cosmos.esa.int/web/gaia/iow_20240416This video is a shortened version of the longer video that can be found here: youtu.be/cU00B-6DeSQ .Credits: ESA/Gaia/DPAC, CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/igo)Acknowledgements: Video Animation: Stefan Jordan, Toni Sagristá - Text: Stefan Jordan, Pasquale Panuzzo, Ulrich Bastian, Tineke Roegiers, Berry Holl - Artificial voice was created with ttsmp3.com - The video was produced by Stefan Jordan and Toni Sagristà Sellés with Gaia Sky. (http://www.zah.uni-heidelberg.de/gaia/outreach/gaiasky) - This video visualises the content of the paper "Discovery of a dormant 33 solar-masses black hole in pre-release Gaia astrometry" by Gaia Collaboration, et al., published in April 2024 in Astronomy & Astrophysics Letters.The Gaia space observatory, operated by the European Space Agency (ESA), uncovered a remarkable find within the constellation Aquila. Initially, Gaia detected what seemed to be a solitary, ageing giant star in that celestial region. During the validation process, which covers over 5.5 years of observations, a remarkable discovery has come to light. The data hinted at the existence of a massive, unseen companion.The peculiar movement of the observed star diverged significantly from what's anticipated for a solitary stellar system, leading scientists to infer the presence of a black hole as the most plausible explanation. Through rigorous analysis, researchers determined that this black hole, dubbed Gaia BH3, boasts an astonishing mass roughly 33 times that of our Sun, making it the most massive of its kind originating from a star within our galaxy known today.This celestial pair exhibits a captivating orbital interplay. The giant star and the black hole engage in a gravitational duet, circling a shared centre of mass approximately every 11.6 years. At their closest encounter, they approach each other to a mere 4.5 astronomical units (equivalent to the distance between the Sun and Jupiter), while at their farthest, they stretch nearly 29 astronomical units apart, resembling the gap between the Sun and Neptune.Additionally, the chemical composition of the observed star offers valuable insights into its evolutionary journey. Its scarcity of heavy elements beyond hydrogen and helium suggests a distinctive origin and developmental path.Unlike the majority of stars in the Milky Way, which orbit within the Galactic plane, Gaia BH3 travels on a retrograde trajectory, opposite to the galactic flow and bringing it also far away from the Galactic plane in millions of years. Furthermore, it is part of a group of stars in the Galactic halo, which is believed to have been accreted by our own Galaxy more than 8 billion years ago.This groundbreaking discovery not only illuminates the mechanisms behind the formation and progression of massive black holes but also serves to validate theoretical models in stellar astrophysics. It marks a significant milestone in our understanding of black holes, with the promise of further revelations as the Gaia mission continues to collect and process data.
Gaias discovery of a massive black hole in our Milky Way: Gaia BH3 (long version - voice - music) ESA Gaia Mission 2024-04-16 | Visualisation of the Gaia BH3 system showing its orbit and the motion of the system in our Galaxy. The video also describes the discovery in more detail.More details on Gaia BH3 discovery: https://www.cosmos.esa.int/web/gaia/iow_20240416Credits: ESA/Gaia/DPAC, CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/igo)Acknowledgements: Video Animation: Stefan Jordan, Toni Sagristá - Text: Stefan Jordan, Pasquale Panuzzo, Ulrich Bastian, Tineke Roegiers, Berry Holl - Artificial voice was created with ttsmp3.com - The video was produced by Stefan Jordan and Toni Sagristà Sellés with Gaia Sky. (http://www.zah.uni-heidelberg.de/gaia/outreach/gaiasky) - This video visualises the content of the paper "Discovery of a dormant 33 solar-masses black hole in pre-release Gaia astrometry" by Gaia Collaboration, et al., published in April 2024 in Astronomy & Astrophysics Letters.The Gaia space observatory, operated by the European Space Agency (ESA), uncovered a remarkable find within the constellation Aquila. Initially, Gaia detected what seemed to be a solitary, ageing giant star in that celestial region. During the validation process, which covers over 5.5 years of observations, a remarkable discovery has come to light. The data hinted at the existence of a massive, unseen companion.The peculiar movement of the observed star diverged significantly from what's anticipated for a solitary stellar system, leading scientists to infer the presence of a black hole as the most plausible explanation. Through rigorous analysis, researchers determined that this black hole, dubbed Gaia BH3, boasts an astonishing mass roughly 33 times that of our Sun, making it the most massive of its kind originating from a star within our galaxy known today.This celestial pair exhibits a captivating orbital interplay. The giant star and the black hole engage in a gravitational duet, circling a shared centre of mass approximately every 11.6 years. At their closest encounter, they approach each other to a mere 4.5 astronomical units (equivalent to the distance between the Sun and Jupiter), while at their farthest, they stretch nearly 29 astronomical units apart, resembling the gap between the Sun and Neptune.Additionally, the chemical composition of the observed star offers valuable insights into its evolutionary journey. Its scarcity of heavy elements beyond hydrogen and helium suggests a distinctive origin and developmental path.Unlike the majority of stars in the Milky Way, which orbit within the Galactic plane, Gaia BH3 travels on a retrograde trajectory, opposite to the galactic flow and bringing it also far away from the Galactic plane in millions of years. Furthermore, it is part of a group of stars in the Galactic halo, which is believed to have been accreted by our own Galaxy more than 8 billion years ago.This groundbreaking discovery not only illuminates the mechanisms behind the formation and progression of massive black holes but also serves to validate theoretical models in stellar astrophysics. It marks a significant milestone in our understanding of black holes, with the promise of further revelations as the Gaia mission continues to collect and process data.
The Galactic orbit of Gaia BH3 (voice - music) ESA Gaia Mission 2024-04-16 | This video describes the Galactic orbit of Gaia Black Hole 3 or Gaia BH3.More details on Gaia BH3 discovery: https://www.cosmos.esa.int/web/gaia/iow_20240416This video is an extract of a longer video as published on youtu.be/cU00B-6DeSQCredits: ESA/Gaia/DPAC, CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/igo)Acknowledgements: Video Animation: Stefan Jordan, Toni Sagristá - Text: Stefan Jordan, Pasquale Panuzzo, Ulrich Bastian, Tineke Roegiers, Berry Holl - Artificial voice was created with ttsmp3.com - The video was produced by Stefan Jordan and Toni Sagristà Sellés with Gaia Sky. (http://www.zah.uni-heidelberg.de/gaia/outreach/gaiasky) - This video visualises the content of the paper "Discovery of a dormant 33 solar-masses black hole in pre-release Gaia astrometry" by Gaia Collaboration, et al., published in April 2024 in Astronomy & Astrophysics Letters.The Gaia space observatory, operated by the European Space Agency (ESA), uncovered a remarkable find within the constellation Aquila. Initially, Gaia detected what seemed to be a solitary, ageing giant star in that celestial region. During the validation process, which covers over 5.5 years of observations, a remarkable discovery has come to light. The data hinted at the existence of a massive, unseen companion.The peculiar movement of the observed star diverged significantly from what's anticipated for a solitary stellar system, leading scientists to infer the presence of a black hole as the most plausible explanation. Through rigorous analysis, researchers determined that this black hole, dubbed Gaia BH3, boasts an astonishing mass roughly 33 times that of our Sun, making it the most massive of its kind originating from a star within our galaxy known today.This celestial pair exhibits a captivating orbital interplay. The giant star and the black hole engage in a gravitational duet, circling a shared centre of mass approximately every 11.6 years. At their closest encounter, they approach each other to a mere 4.5 astronomical units (equivalent to the distance between the Sun and Jupiter), while at their farthest, they stretch nearly 29 astronomical units apart, resembling the gap between the Sun and Neptune.Additionally, the chemical composition of the observed star offers valuable insights into its evolutionary journey. Its scarcity of heavy elements beyond hydrogen and helium suggests a distinctive origin and developmental path.Unlike the majority of stars in the Milky Way, which orbit within the Galactic plane, Gaia BH3 travels on a retrograde trajectory, opposite to the galactic flow and bringing it also far away from the Galactic plane in millions of years. Furthermore, it is part of a group of stars in the Galactic halo, which is believed to have been accreted by our own Galaxy more than 8 billion years ago.This groundbreaking discovery not only illuminates the mechanisms behind the formation and progression of massive black holes but also serves to validate theoretical models in stellar astrophysics. It marks a significant milestone in our understanding of black holes, with the promise of further revelations as the Gaia mission continues to collect and process data.
The Gaia Black Hole 3 binary system (voice - music) ESA Gaia Mission 2024-04-16 | This video describes the binary system of Gaia Black Hole 3 or Gaia BH3.More details on Gaia BH3 discovery: https://www.cosmos.esa.int/web/gaia/iow_20240416This video is an extract of a longer video as published on youtu.be/cU00B-6DeSQCredits: ESA/Gaia/DPAC, CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/igo)Acknowledgements: Video Animation: Stefan Jordan, Toni Sagristá - Text: Stefan Jordan, Pasquale Panuzzo, Ulrich Bastian, Tineke Roegiers, Berry Holl - Artificial voice was created with ttsmp3.com - The video was produced by Stefan Jordan and Toni Sagristà Sellés with Gaia Sky. (http://www.zah.uni-heidelberg.de/gaia/outreach/gaiasky) - This video visualises the content of the paper "Discovery of a dormant 33 solar-masses black hole in pre-release Gaia astrometry" by Gaia Collaboration, et al., published in April 2024 in Astronomy & Astrophysics Letters.The Gaia space observatory, operated by the European Space Agency (ESA), uncovered a remarkable find within the constellation Aquila. Initially, Gaia detected what seemed to be a solitary, ageing giant star in that celestial region. During the validation process, which covers over 5.5 years of observations, a remarkable discovery has come to light. The data hinted at the existence of a massive, unseen companion.The peculiar movement of the observed star diverged significantly from what's anticipated for a solitary stellar system, leading scientists to infer the presence of a black hole as the most plausible explanation. Through rigorous analysis, researchers determined that this black hole, dubbed Gaia BH3, boasts an astonishing mass roughly 33 times that of our Sun, making it the most massive of its kind originating from a star within our galaxy known today.This celestial pair exhibits a captivating orbital interplay. The giant star and the black hole engage in a gravitational duet, circling a shared centre of mass approximately every 11.6 years. At their closest encounter, they approach each other to a mere 4.5 astronomical units (equivalent to the distance between the Sun and Jupiter), while at their farthest, they stretch nearly 29 astronomical units apart, resembling the gap between the Sun and Neptune.Additionally, the chemical composition of the observed star offers valuable insights into its evolutionary journey. Its scarcity of heavy elements beyond hydrogen and helium suggests a distinctive origin and developmental path.Unlike the majority of stars in the Milky Way, which orbit within the Galactic plane, Gaia BH3 travels on a retrograde trajectory, opposite to the galactic flow and bringing it also far away from the Galactic plane in millions of years. Furthermore, it is part of a group of stars in the Galactic halo, which is believed to have been accreted by our own Galaxy more than 8 billion years ago.This groundbreaking discovery not only illuminates the mechanisms behind the formation and progression of massive black holes but also serves to validate theoretical models in stellar astrophysics. It marks a significant milestone in our understanding of black holes, with the promise of further revelations as the Gaia mission continues to collect and process data.
The discovery of Gaia Black Hole 3 (voice - music) ESA Gaia Mission 2024-04-16 | This video describes the discovery of Gaia Black Hole 3 or Gaia BH3.More details on Gaia BH3 discovery: https://www.cosmos.esa.int/web/gaia/iow_20240416This video is an extract of a longer video as published on youtu.be/cU00B-6DeSQCredits: ESA/Gaia/DPAC, CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/igo)Acknowledgements: Video Animation: Stefan Jordan, Toni Sagristá - Text: Stefan Jordan, Pasquale Panuzzo, Ulrich Bastian, Tineke Roegiers, Berry Holl - Artificial voice was created with ttsmp3.com - The video was produced by Stefan Jordan and Toni Sagristà Sellés with Gaia Sky. (http://www.zah.uni-heidelberg.de/gaia/outreach/gaiasky) - This video visualises the content of the paper "Discovery of a dormant 33 solar-masses black hole in pre-release Gaia astrometry" by Gaia Collaboration, et al., published in April 2024 in Astronomy & Astrophysics Letters.The Gaia space observatory, operated by the European Space Agency (ESA), uncovered a remarkable find within the constellation Aquila. Initially, Gaia detected what seemed to be a solitary, ageing giant star in that celestial region. During the validation process, which covers over 5.5 years of observations, a remarkable discovery has come to light. The data hinted at the existence of a massive, unseen companion.The peculiar movement of the observed star diverged significantly from what's anticipated for a solitary stellar system, leading scientists to infer the presence of a black hole as the most plausible explanation. Through rigorous analysis, researchers determined that this black hole, dubbed Gaia BH3, boasts an astonishing mass roughly 33 times that of our Sun, making it the most massive of its kind originating from a star within our galaxy known today.This celestial pair exhibits a captivating orbital interplay. The giant star and the black hole engage in a gravitational duet, circling a shared centre of mass approximately every 11.6 years. At their closest encounter, they approach each other to a mere 4.5 astronomical units (equivalent to the distance between the Sun and Jupiter), while at their farthest, they stretch nearly 29 astronomical units apart, resembling the gap between the Sun and Neptune.Additionally, the chemical composition of the observed star offers valuable insights into its evolutionary journey. Its scarcity of heavy elements beyond hydrogen and helium suggests a distinctive origin and developmental path.Unlike the majority of stars in the Milky Way, which orbit within the Galactic plane, Gaia BH3 travels on a retrograde trajectory, opposite to the galactic flow and bringing it also far away from the Galactic plane in millions of years. Furthermore, it is part of a group of stars in the Galactic halo, which is believed to have been accreted by our own Galaxy more than 8 billion years ago.This groundbreaking discovery not only illuminates the mechanisms behind the formation and progression of massive black holes but also serves to validate theoretical models in stellar astrophysics. It marks a significant milestone in our understanding of black holes, with the promise of further revelations as the Gaia mission continues to collect and process data.
Gaia 10th launch anniversary ESA Gaia Mission 2023-12-19 | A celebration of the diversity of people behind Gaia - celebrating Gaia's 10 years in space. The ESA Gaia mission was launched on 19 December 2013 and is mapping the Milky Way with unprecedented accuracy. The data produced by the mission is processed by a large international collaboration: the Gaia Data Processing and Analysis Consortium. The mission has published several data releases and more are on the horizon.Celebrate with us!Stories: https://www.cosmos.esa.int/web/gaia/10-years-in-spaceGaia - an ESA missionAcknowledgements: Anthony Brown, Dafydd Evans, Céline Reylè, Giorgia Busso, Panagiotis Gavras, Sara Jamal, Zusanna Kostrzewa, Tomaz ZwitterEditing: Federico Di Giacomo, Rosanna Sordo, Tineke RoegiersSpacecraft footage: ESAData visualizations: Gaia Sky - ESA/Gaia/DPACDrawing: The Art of Gueguel (theartofgueguel.com) and Sharly (facebook.com/SharlyBD)Planets visualization: NASAMusic: Dusk Till DawnCredits: ESA/Gaia/DPAC - CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO
Gaia Focused Product Release Event (10 October 2023) ESA Gaia Mission 2023-10-12 | Recording of the Gaia Focused Product Release event as streamed live from ESAC on 10 October 2023.With this Focused Product Release, Gaia publishes something for everyone. From cosmology to Milky Way to solar system science. There are radial velocity time series long period variables. Diffuse interstellar bands to unveil the secrets of the interstellar medium. The search for gravitational lenses with Gaia. Additional stars from engineering. images in high star density fields. Updated orbits for solar system objects.This recording is published on our Gaia FPR events page: https://www.cosmos.esa.int/web/gaia/fpr-eventsPress release associated to this data release can be found here: https://www.esa.int/Science_Exploration/Space_Science/Gaia/New_Gaia_release_reveals_rare_lenses_cluster_cores_and_unforeseen_scienceIn depth-stories on each of the 5 topics: https://www.cosmos.esa.int/web/gaia/fpr-stories
Service Interface Function (SIF) image of the globular cluster ω Centauri (Gaia FPR) - fast ESA Gaia Mission 2023-10-10 | Gaia’s Data Processing and Analysis Consortium (DPAC) decided in 2014 that Gaia would observe nine regions in the sky where stars are densely packed together and where the usual Gaia observation mode fails to detect all stars. These regions are referred to as Crowded Fields (CF). These observations were only possible by making use of the Service Interface Function (SIF) mode of the Gaia Sky Mapper (SM) instrument. A mode originally planned for calibration purposes only.This videos shows one of the 2300 two-dimensional SIF images captured within the globular cluster “omega Centauri”. The video pans through the image from one side to the other to fully show its extension.Video published for Gaia's Focused Product Release: https://www.cosmos.esa.int/web/gaia/focused-product-releaseMore info: https://www.cosmos.esa.int/web/gaia/fpr-sif-crowded-field-omega-cenCredits: ESA/Gaia/DPACLicense: CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/igoAcknowledgements:* Based on the paper "Gaia Focused Product Release: Sources from Service Interface Function image analysis - half a million new sources in omega Centauri" by Gaia Collaboration, K. Weingrill, et al., 2023* Video: Stefan Jordan* Images: Alexey Mints, Katja Weingrill* Visualisation: with „Gaia Sky“, developed by Toni Sagristà. https://zah.uni-heidelberg.de/gaia/outreach/gaiasky
Gaia Observations of Mira Long Period Variables (Gaia FPR) - Technical version ESA Gaia Mission 2023-10-10 | The Gaia Mission of the European Space Agency has observed thousands of pulsating cool giant stars. Gaia has repeatedly observed these variable stars for more than five years since launch in 2013.Red giants are about ten to hundreds of times larger than the Sun, while their outer envelope is lower in temperature giving them a yellowish-orange hue. They have luminosities up to nearly three thousand times that of the Sun, with spectral types of K or M, and surface temperatures of 2700 to 3700 degrees Celsius. The outer layers of these large red stars continuously expand and contract over long periods of time, from about a hundred to 400 days.The red giant star Mira is considered the prototype of the long period variables. The atmospheric pulsations cause the periodical brightness variability observed by Gaia. But Gaia also observes the spectrum from which the envelope expansion and contraction velocities are measured. The dark spectral lines move back and forth, changing their wavelength positions due to the Doppler effect. The spectral line shifts are proportional to the velocities with which the envelope contracts and expands in our line-of-sight to the red giant.The Gaia Data Archive offers the largest sample of velocity and brightness curves of Mira variables observed to date. Video published for Gaia's Focused Product Release: https://www.cosmos.esa.int/web/gaia/focused-product-release A simplified version of this video was published as well and can be found here: youtu.be/kHrqNojDN6kMore info: https://www.cosmos.esa.int/web/gaia/fpr-rv-epoch-data-for-lpvsCredit: ESA/Gaia/DPAC Acknowledgements: Alex Lobel, Royal Observatory of Belgium, Brussels
Service Interface Function (SIF) image of the globular cluster ω Centauri (Gaia FPR) - slow ESA Gaia Mission 2023-10-10 | Gaia’s Data Processing and Analysis Consortium (DPAC) decided in 2014 that Gaia would observe nine regions in the sky where stars are densely packed together and where the usual Gaia observation mode fails to detect all stars. These regions are referred to as Crowded Fields (CF). These observations were only possible by making use of the Service Interface Function (SIF) mode of the Gaia Sky Mapper (SM) instrument. A mode originally planned for calibration purposes only.This videos shows one of the 2300 two-dimensional SIF images captured within the globular cluster “omega Centauri”. The video pans through the image from one side to the other to fully show its extension.Video published for Gaia's Focused Product Release: https://www.cosmos.esa.int/web/gaia/focused-product-releaseMore info: https://www.cosmos.esa.int/web/gaia/fpr-sif-crowded-field-omega-cenCredits: ESA/Gaia/DPACLicense: CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/igoAcknowledgements:* Based on the paper "Gaia Focused Product Release: Sources from Service Interface Function image analysis - half a million new sources in omega Centauri" by Gaia Collaboration, K. Weingrill, et al., 2023* Video: Stefan Jordan* Images: Alexey Mints, Katja Weingrill* Visualisation: with „Gaia Sky“, developed by Toni Sagristà. https://zah.uni-heidelberg.de/gaia/outreach/gaiasky
Gravitational lensing explained ESA Gaia Mission 2023-10-10 | This animation provides a visual demonstration of how the position of a quasar relative to a lensing galaxy influences the position, number, and brightness of gravitational lensed images. Quasars are supermassive black holes that continuously accrete immense amounts of gas and matter, making them the brightest objects in the Universe.In some rare cases, the light from an extremely distant quasar passes near a massive galaxy or a cluster of galaxies. The gravitational field of these intervening objects bends the quasar's light rays, resulting in the production of multiple images of the quasar that would otherwise be a single background source. This phenomenon is known as strong gravitational lensing.The animation highlights that the distribution of mass within the lensing galaxy and its position relative to the line-of-sight toward the quasar determine the number and positions of the lensed images that are created.To explore the potential configurations of the lensed images, the animation artificially moves the position of the quasar in relation to the lensing galaxy. When the quasar and the lensing galaxy are not well aligned, only a single image of the quasar is observed. If they are closer in alignment, two images can be seen. And when they are almost perfectly aligned, four images of the quasar become visible.The animation notes that these changes cannot be observed in reality because quasars are located at such vast distances that their motions are incredibly small. Nonetheless, this visualization helps illustrate how the relative positions of quasars and lensing galaxies influence the appearance of gravitational lensed images.More info on the Gaia mission: https://www.cosmos.esa.int/web/gaiaMore on Gaia's search for gravitational lenses: https://www.cosmos.esa.int/web/gaia/fpr-gravitational-lens-searchCredits: ESA/Gaia/DPAC / This animation explains the content of the paper: "Focus Product Release: Search for strongly lensed quasars." by Gaia Collaboration, A. Krone-Martins, et al. 2023; and makes use of: Artist’s impression of quasar ULAS J1120+0641, ESO/M. Kornmesser, CC BY 4.0 / Galaxy Picture: Hubble Space Telescope image of Messier 77, NASA, ESA & A. van der Hoeven / Background image: NASA, ESA and T.M. Brown (STScI) / The artificial voice was created with ttsmp3.com / Video Animation created by Stefan Jordan / Based on a simulation by Quentin Petit, Laboratoire d'Astrophysique de Bordeaux, France / Text of the animation created by: Stefan Jordan, Ludovic Delchambre, Christine Ducourant
Gaia Observations of Mira Long Period Variables (Gaia FPR) ESA Gaia Mission 2023-10-10 | The Gaia Mission of the European Space Agency has observed thousands of pulsating cool giant stars. Gaia has repeatedly observed these variable stars for more than five years since launch in 2013.Red giants are about ten to hundreds of times larger than the Sun, while their outer envelope is lower in temperature giving them a yellowish-orange hue. They have luminosities up to nearly three thousand times that of the Sun, with spectral types of K or M, and surface temperatures of 2700 to 3700 degrees Celsius. The outer layers of these large red stars continuously expand and contract over long periods of time, from about a hundred to 400 days.The red giant star Mira is considered the prototype of the long period variables. The atmospheric pulsations cause the periodical brightness variability observed by Gaia. But Gaia also observes the spectrum from which the envelope expansion and contraction velocities are measured. The dark spectral lines move back and forth, changing their wavelength positions due to the Doppler effect. The spectral line shifts are proportional to the velocities with which the envelope contracts and expands in our line-of-sight to the red giant.The Gaia Data Archive offers the largest sample of velocity and brightness curves of Mira variables observed to date. Video published for Gaia's Focused Product Release: https://www.cosmos.esa.int/web/gaia/focused-product-release The video gives a simplified interpretation of the observations taken by Gaia. A technical version of this video was published as well and can be found here: youtu.be/DvncrQ-FDOkMore info: https://www.cosmos.esa.int/web/gaia/fpr-rv-epoch-data-for-lpvsCredit: ESA/Gaia/DPAC Acknowledgements: Alex Lobel, Royal Observatory of Belgium, Brussels
Gaia Focused Product Release: omega Centauri, a globular cluster bursting with stars ESA Gaia Mission 2023-10-10 | Short GIF-like video comparing the view of the globular cluster omega Centauri with Gaia Data Release 3 with the new published data added: Gaia Data Release 3 + Gaia Focused Product Release.Credits: ESA/Gaia/DPACCC BY-SA 3.0 IGO creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/igoVideo published for Gaia's Focused Product Release: https://www.cosmos.esa.int/web/gaia/focused-product-releaseMore info: https://www.cosmos.esa.int/web/gaia/fpr-sif-crowded-field-omega-cenAcknowledgements: * Based on the paper "Gaia Focused Product Release: Sources from Service Interface Function image analysis - half a million new sources in omega Centauri" by Gaia Collaboration, K. Weingrill, et al., 2023*Short created by Tineke Roegiers using screenshots of the video: youtu.be/AAGk0BxCu40* Video: Stefan Jordan* Data: Alexey Mints, Katja Weingrill* Visualisation: with „Gaia Sky“, developed by Toni Sagristà. https://zah.uni-heidelberg.de/gaia/outreach/gaiasky
Gaia spectacularly improves asteroid orbits (Gaia Focused Product Release) - with voice ESA Gaia Mission 2023-10-10 | With Gaia's Focused Product Release on 10 October 2023, orbits for nearly 157,000 asteroids were significantly improved. These new orbits, based on up to 5.5 years of Gaia data, outperform decades of ground-based observations in terms of precision. To illustrate this, an asteroid named 'Wolfratshausen' with a five-kilometer diameter is focused on. By comparing pre-Gaia ground-based observations with Gaia's data, it can be seen clearly how Gaia's precision revolutionizes our understanding of asteroid orbits. The green cloud of asteroid positions in Gaia's data is remarkably compact, highlighting the progress made in just 5 years compared to 31 years of pre-Gaia observations.Video published for Gaia's Focused Product Release: https://www.cosmos.esa.int/web/gaia/focused-product-releaseMore information: https://www.cosmos.esa.int/web/gaia/fpr-sso-updated-astrometryCredits: ESA/Gaia/DPAC - CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/igo)Acknowledgements: Based on the paper "Focus Product Release: Asteroid orbital solution" by Gaia Collaboration, P. David, et al. 2023 / Data: Pedro David / Video: Stefan Jordan, Toni Sagristà, / Text: Stefan Jordan, Tineke Roegiers, Paolo Tango / Artificial voice: created with ttsmp3.com / Visualisation: with „Gaia Sky“, developed by Toni Sagristà : https://zah.uni-heidelberg.de/gaia/outreach/gaiasky
Spatial distribution of two diffuse interstellar bands (Gaia Focused Product Release) ESA Gaia Mission 2023-10-10 | Gaia observes each target, where diffuse interstellar bands (DIBs) are expected, with its radial velocity spectrometer (RVS). This results in an RVS spectrum. At high Galactic latitudes, where DIBs are not expected, stars have similar RVS spectra. These different spectra are stacked together to create a stacked reference spectrum. The spectrum of the target star can be divided by this stacked reference spectrum, revealing the diffuse interstellar bands (DIBs) in the spectrum. Using this technique, 235 428 measurements of DIBs were performed with Gaia, allowing to probe DIBs in great detail as well as farther away from us.Video published for Gaia's Focused Product Release: https://www.cosmos.esa.int/web/gaia/focused-product-releaseMore information: https://www.cosmos.esa.int/web/gaia/fpr-dib-from-spectraCredits: ESA/Gaia/DPAC - CC BY-SA 3.0 IGOAcknowledgements: Mathias Schultheis, He Zhao, Rosanna Sordo, Federico Di Giacomo. Video editing: Federico Di Giacomo. Images: ESA/Gaia/DPAC, Rosanna Sordo.
omega Centauri: Unveiling half a million undetected Gaia stars - voiceover (Gaia FPR) ESA Gaia Mission 2023-10-10 | In 2014 the Gaia Data Processing and Analysis Consortium (Gaia DPAC) decided that Gaia should observe nine specific regions in the sky known as crowded fields, where stars are densely packed together and where the usual Gaia observation mode fails to detect all stars. In these regions, too many stars are in view for the regular observation mode and preference is given to the brighter stars. To also detect the fainter stars, Gaia makes use of the Service Interface Function (SIF) mode of its Sky Mapper (SM) instrument. These images were originally only intended for calibration purposes. The processing of these images is described in the paper "Gaia Focused Product Release: Sources from Service Interface Function image analysis - half a million new sources in omega Centauri" by Gaia Collaboration, K. Weingrill, A. Mints, et al.In this video, a zoom into the globular cluster ω Centauri is shown to highlight the number of stars added by the analysis of 2300 two-dimensional SIF images captured within the globular cluster. A data set spanning the globular cluster ω Centauri is published with Gaia’s Focused Product Release. A full release of each of the 9 crowded fields can be expected in Gaia’s Data Release 4.Video published for Gaia's Focused Product Release: https://www.cosmos.esa.int/web/gaia/focused-product-releaseMore info: https://www.cosmos.esa.int/web/gaia/fpr-sif-crowded-field-omega-cenCredits: ESA/Gaia/DPACLicense: CC BY-SA 3.0 IGOAcknowledgements:* Based on the paper "Gaia Focused Product Release: Sources from Service Interface Function image analysis - half a million new sources in omega Centauri" by Gaia Collaboration, K. Weingrill, et al., 2023* The artificial voice was created with ttsmp3.com* Video: Stefan Jordan* Text: Katja Weingrill, Stefan Jordan* Data: Alexey Mints, Katja Weingrill* Visualisation: with „Gaia Sky“, developed by Toni Sagristà. https://zah.uni-heidelberg.de/gaia/outreach/gaiasky
Search for gravitational lenses with Gaia (Gaia Focused Product Release) - voiceover ESA Gaia Mission 2023-10-10 | This video showcases an example of a gravitationally lensed quasar, captured by the Gaia space telescope. Gaia's primary objective is to create a highly accurate three-dimensional map of the Milky Way by observing around 2 billion stars repeatedly. However, Gaia's observations also extend to distant objects like quasars.The video starts by explaining the phenomenon of gravitational lensing, which occurs when light from a quasar is bent by the gravitational field of a massive object, such as a galaxy positioned between the quasar and the observer. In the video a ground-based picture from the PANSTARRS survey is shown, in which four images of the quasar are visible, thanks to gravitational lensing.The low-resolution spectrograph (photometer) of Gaia was used to study the light emitted by the individual images, confirming that they originated from the same quasar. Gaia's ability to determine positions with high accuracy from space is highlighted, contrasting with the ground-based picture. The video presents 75 individual Gaia measurements taken over a period of 32 months.The mean positions of the Gaia measurements for each component are compared to a picture of the same region taken with the Hubble Space Telescope, showing that Gaia's positional accuracy is comparable to that of the Hubble Space Telescope. Unlike telescopes like Hubble, which require specific pointing to observe different regions around a quasar, Gaia's full-sky coverage and exceptional resolution enable it to conduct a comprehensive survey for gravitationally lensed quasars.Video published for Gaia's Focused Product Release: https://www.cosmos.esa.int/web/gaia/focused-product-releaseMore info: https://www.cosmos.esa.int/web/gaia/fpr-gravitational-lens-searchCredits: ESA/Gaia/DPAC / Based on the paper "Gaia Focused Product Release: A catalogue of sources around quasars to search for strongly lensed quasars" by Gaia Collaboration, A. Krone-Martins, et al. 2023 / Ground-based pictures of the quasar DR3Gaia065903.826+162907.83=J0659+1629 by the PANSTARRS 1 survey (pswww.ifa.hawaii.edu/pswww/) obtained with Aladin (aladin.u-strasbg.fr) / HST image extracted from MAST (mast.stsci.edu) Publication reference: ads/Sa.HST#IDXO08020 / Animation of Gaia from video "INSIDE GAIA'S BILLION-PIXEL CAMERA (FOCAL PLANE)" copyright ESA / The artificial voice was created with ttsmp3.com / Video created by Stefan Jordan / Text created by Stefan Jordan, Ludovic Delchambre, and Christine Ducourant
Gaias nominal scanning law explained ESA Gaia Mission 2023-10-10 | Gaia's nominal scanning law is visualized in this video. Gaia scans the sky continuously over its mission lifetime. This video shows the first 5 years of the Gaia mission's scanning law, assuming a nominal scanning law. While Gaia scans, more and more objects transit the Gaia field of view, as is illustrated with the colour codes on the right. It is clear from this animation that the scanning law aims for as complete a coverage in 5 years.Interesting to note is that some objects in the sky are seen almost 250 times over 5 years. That's 50 times a year! Other objects are seen only few times. Gaia aims to see every object on average 70 times in the course of 5 years. Considering a mission extension is in place, Gaia will see each object on average about 140 times.Gaia's actual commanded scanning law is available from the Gaia Data Release 3 auxiliary data set in the Gaia Archive.Credit: ESA/Gaia/DPAC - CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/igo)Acknowledgements: created by Berry Holl.More info on the Gaia mission: https://www.cosmos.esa.int/web/gaia
ω Centauri : A high-density region explored with Gaias special observation mode - voice (GaiaFPR) ESA Gaia Mission 2023-10-10 | This video focuses on one of the 2300 two-dimensional SIF images captured by the Gaia space telescope within the globular cluster “omega Centauri”. This particular SIF image is highlighted to show its location, then further examined in detail by panning through it.In 2014, Gaia’s Data Processing and Analysis Consortium (DPAC) decided that Gaia should observe nine regions in the sky where stars are densely packed together and where the usual Gaia observation mode fails to detect all stars. These regions are referred to as Crowded Fields (CF). To allow for these observations, Gaia made use of the Service Interface Function (SIF) mode of its Gaia Sky Mapper (SM) instrument.The star cluster ω Centauri is part of a series of nine sky locations where stars are so densely packed that Gaia's usual observation mode struggles to detect all the faint stars present. With the special observation mode, Gaia's Sky Mapper instrument captured 2300 full two-dimensional images of this particular cluster. Initially, these images were intended solely for calibration purposes.With a new software pipeline developed specifically to use these images, over half a million additional sources are added to the Gaia catalogue. This allows to expand our understanding of the stars within the cluster and improves the overall accuracy and completeness of the Gaia dataset.Video published for Gaia's Focused Product Release: https://www.cosmos.esa.int/web/gaia/focused-product-releaseMore info: https://www.cosmos.esa.int/web/gaia/fpr-sif-crowded-field-omega-cenCredits: ESA/Gaia/DPACLicense: CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/igoAcknowledgements: Based on the paper"Gaia Focused Product Release: Sources from Service Interface Function image analysis - half a million new sources in omega Centauri" by Gaia Collaboration, K. Weingrill, et al. 2023Video: Stefan JordanText: Katja Weingrill, Stefan JordanImages: Alexey Mints, Katja WeingrillVoice: The artificial voice was created with ttsmp3.comVisualisation: created with „Gaia Sky“, developed by Toni Sagristà. https://zah.uni-heidelberg.de/gaia/outreach/gaiasky
What are stars made of - A. Recio-Blanco - Pills of Science by CU8 experts ESA Gaia Mission 2023-03-22 | Full details: https://www.cosmos.esa.int/web/gaia/dr3-coordination-unit-8-highlightPublished for Gaia Data Release 3 on 13 June 2022.Video discussing "What stars are made of?" by Alejandra Recio-Blanco as part of the series of Pills of Science by Gaia DPAC CU8 experts.Credits:* RVS Spectrum animation: ESA/Gaia/DPAC/CU8-CU6, A. Recio-Blanco and the GSPspec team* Chemical cartography video: ESA/Gaia/DPAC, S. Jordan, T. Sagristà, A. Recio-Blanco, P. A. Palicio, P. de Laverny, P. McMillan* Based on the article Gaia Collaboration, Recio-Blanco et al 2022, A&A, "Gaia Data Release 3: Chemical cartography of the Milky Way".
Gaia and the Unseen - R. Smart - Pills of Science by CU8 experts. ESA Gaia Mission 2023-03-22 | Full details: https://www.cosmos.esa.int/web/gaia/dr3-coordination-unit-8-highlightPublished for Gaia Data Release 3 on 13 June 2022.Gaia and the Unseen by R. SmartVideo credits:* Artist's renditions of Sun - Jupiter: from original by Dr. R. Hurt of the Infrared Processing and Analysis Center, Caltech, California USA.* PanSTARRS DR1 r: R. White (STScI) and the PS1 Science Consortium* UKIDSS LAS J1: Produced as part of the The UKIRT Infrared Deep Sky Survey - Lawrence et al., 2007, MNRAS, 379, 1599.* Based on the article Gaia Collaboration, Creevey, O.L., et al. “Gaia Data Release 3: Golden Sample of Astrophysical Parameters”
Introduction to the Gaia DPAC CU8 Pills of Science - Rosanna Sordo - Pills of Science by CU8 experts ESA Gaia Mission 2023-03-22 | Full details: https://www.cosmos.esa.int/web/gaia/dr3-coordination-unit-8-highlightPublished for Gaia Data Release 3 on 13 June 2022.Introduction to the Gaia Data Processing and Analysis Consortium (DPAC) CU8's Pills of Science, produced by Gaia's Coordination Unit 8 in view of Gaia's Data Release 3, published on 13 June 2022.Copyright: Gaia/DPAC/CU8/Rosanna Sordo
Gaia and the diffuse interstellar bands (DIBs) - M. Schultheis - Pills of Science by CU8 experts ESA Gaia Mission 2023-03-22 | Full details: https://www.cosmos.esa.int/web/gaia/dr3-what-is-in-between-the-starsPublished for Gaia Data Release 3 on 13 June 2022.Gaia and the Diffuse Interstellar Bands (DIBs) explained by M.SchultheisCredits: ESA/Gaia/DPAC/CU8, M. Schultheis, Animation: Z. He and M.Schultheis, Video editing by R. Sordo, Intro segment by F. Di Giacomo, Based on the article Gaia Collaboration, Schultheis, M., et al. “Gaia Data Release 3: Exploring and mapping the diffuse interstellar bands at 862nm”Copyright: Gaia/DPAC/CU8/Mathias Schultheis
Mass inference in Gaias Coordination Unit 8 - O. Creevey - Pills of Science by CU8 experts ESA Gaia Mission 2023-03-22 | Full details: https://www.cosmos.esa.int/web/gaia/dr3-how-big-or-warm-or-old-are-the-starsPublished for Gaia Data Release 3 on 13 June 2022.Mass inference in Gaia's Coordination Unit 8 explained by O. CreeveyCredits: ESA/Gaia/DPAC/CU8, O. Creevey, Video editing by R. Sordo, Intro segment by F. Di Giacomo, Based on the article Gaia Collaboration, Creevey, et al. 2022Copyright: Gaia/DPAC/CU8/Orlagh Creevey
GaiaVari Citizen Science Project kicks off ESA Gaia Mission 2023-03-21 | GaiaVari: a citizen science project to help Gaia variability classificaton, kicks off on Zooniverse on 21 March 2023.GaiaVari Project: https://www.gaiavari.space/Gaia Vari on Zooniverse: zooniverse.org/projects/gaia-zooniverse/gaia-variGaia DR3 paper on variability classification (Eyer et al. 2022) in ArXiv: arxiv.org/abs/2206.06416Story "Amateur astronomers needed: help classify stars with Gaia's data": https://www.esa.int/Enabling_Support/Preparing_for_the_Future/Space_for_Earth/Amateur_astronomers_needed_help_classify_stars_with_Gaia_s_dataStory "GaiaVari: a citizen science project to help Gaia variability classificaton": https://www.cosmos.esa.int/web/gaia/iow_20230321Credits: Sednai, ScienceNow
100 months of Gaia observations of Plutos moon Charon in 20 seconds ESA Gaia Mission 2022-11-25 | The 103 resolved detections of Pluto and Charon over the 100 months of Gaia science operations as described in the story published here: https://www.cosmos.esa.int/web/gaia/iow_20221125The plot gives the position of Charon at every epoch on the plane of the sky with reference to Pluto. The positions are derived from the data of the Gaia source finder and a first improvement on the on-board attitude, resulting in a position accuracy of 60 mas in both coordinates. Not too bad compared to ground based standards, but no match for Gaia final astrometry that will be obtained years later after the global iterative processing. Credits: ESA/Gaia/DPAC - CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/igo)Acknowledgements: F. Mignard, DPAC and Observatoire de la Côte d'Azur, Nice (France).
100 months of Gaia observations of Plutos moon Charon in 30 seconds ESA Gaia Mission 2022-11-25 | The 103 resolved detections of Pluto and Charon over the 100 months of Gaia science operations as described in the story published here: https://www.cosmos.esa.int/web/gaia/iow_20221125The plot gives the position of Charon at every epoch on the plane of the sky with reference to Pluto. The positions are derived from the data of the Gaia source finder and a first improvement on the on-board attitude, resulting in a position accuracy of 60 mas in both coordinates. Not too bad compared to ground based standards, but no match for Gaia final astrometry that will be obtained years later after the global iterative processing. Credits: ESA/Gaia/DPAC - CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/igo)Acknowledgements: F. Mignard, DPAC and Observatoire de la Côte d'Azur, Nice (France).
Gaias extinction map (Gaia Data Release 3) ESA Gaia Mission 2022-06-21 | Full description on this topic here: https://www.cosmos.esa.int/web/gaia/dr3-what-is-in-between-the-starsPublished for Gaia Data Release 3 on 13 June 2022. In Gaia DR3 GSP-phot provides extinctions and distances for ~470 million individual stars. In this video we map the extinction as a function of 3D positon of the full sample of stars from the GSP-phot catalgoue as particle data to show the extinction variation of the Milky Way in 3D. We start the video with an artist impression of the top down view of the Milky Way and then the top down view of the Milky Way as seen in extinction using the GSP-phot data. And then we pan to see the view of the Galactic plane from the sun. Following this we pan and zoom in to see the view of several well known Galactic Molecular Clouds, including California, Perseus, Taurus and Orion. See Andrae et al., 2022 for more details on the input data from GSP-phot. Credits: ESA/Gaia/DPACLicense: CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/igo)Acknowledgements: T. Müller, Max Planck Institute for Astronomy / Haus der Astronomie(Artist impression of Milky Way is based on "NASA/JPL-Caltech/ESO/R. Hurt", eso1339g, Music: "Planet Earth", Jeremusic70, pixabay)Contact for further information on the video: Thavisha Dharmawardena, Max Planck Institute for Astronomy
Gaias velocity map (Gaia Data Release 3) ESA Gaia Mission 2022-06-21 | Full description in this story: https://www.cosmos.esa.int/web/gaia/dr3-do-they-approach-us-or-move-awayAnimation created for Gaia's data release 3 on 13 June 2022: https://www.cosmos.esa.int/web/gaia/data-release-3The animation consists of the superposition of the galactocentric radial velocity map recently published by Leung+2022, (https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2022arXiv220412551L/abstract)which uses Gaia DR3 proper motions, APOGEE DR17 line-of-sight velocities and spectro-photometric distances derived from astroNN neural-network (Leung & Bovy, 2019), with the corresponding plot derived in the paper: "Gaia Data Release 3: Mapping the asymmetric disc of the Milky Way" by the Gaia Collaboration, Drimmel, R., et al. 2022.We see how the extension of the sample is larger with Gaia DR3 and the resolution is better. The cloverleaf pattern of negative-positive-negative-positive radial velocities is also clearly seen, which corresponds to stars orbiting in the Galactic bar. The far side of the Galaxy is not visible by Gaia though the pattern is clearly detectable. The change in sign is aligned with the bar axes.This is the first time the velocity pattern of the Milky Way is so well resolved, thanks to Gaia DR3.Credits ESA/Gaia/DPAC, using figures from the paper "Gaia Data Release 3: Mapping the asymmetric disc of the Milky Way" by the Gaia Collaboration, Drimmel, R., et al. 2022. ; and from Leung+2022.Acknowledgements: M. Romero-Gómez, L. Chemin
Gaias detection of non-single stars with spectroscopy ESA Gaia Mission 2022-06-21 | Full description of Gaia's non-single star catalogue can be found from: https://www.cosmos.esa.int/web/gaia/dr3-non-single-starsThis infographic was released for Gaia Data Release 3 on 13 June 2022.Spectroscopic binaries have their radial velocity that vary periodically, depending whether a star approaches or recedes from us and are detected thanks to this variation. If the sources have a similar magnitude, the spectral lines of the two can be seen, though frequently only the ones from the brightest are seen. As the amplitude of the radial velocity variation increases when the period is shorter, small period binaries are more frequent, typically from hours to months. Credits: ESA/Gaia/DPACLicense: CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO, creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/igo Acknowledgements: ESA/Gaia/DPAC/CU4/NSS, Nathalie Bauchet
Gaias non-single star catalogue (Gaia Data Release 3) ESA Gaia Mission 2022-06-21 | Full description of Gaia's non-single star catalogue can be found from: https://www.cosmos.esa.int/web/gaia/dr3-non-single-starsThis infographic was released for Gaia Data Release 3 on 13 June 2022.Astrometric binaries are sources where the binarity is detected by a motion on the sky which is not uniform; this can be an elliptic motion or just a part of it for orbits with very long periods. The two sources can't be seen individually (we say: can't be resolved) as they are too distant; either the two companions have a very different magnitude (for an extreme example: a star plus a planet), then only the motion of the bright one can be detected; or the sources have a similar magnitude, then the motion of the photocenter only is seen. Between these two cases, it is generally not easy to know the correct answer. Astrometric binaries have generally long periods (months to years or decades) as the motion on the sky is too small for short period binaries.Eclipsing binaries are detected thanks to the periodic dimming of a star due to an eclipse by a companion. As the probability that the line of sight is precisely along the plane of orbit is very small if the two sources were very separated, eclipsing binaries have small periods, hours to days. When too close, the two companions may then be in contact. The variation of the magnitude (the shape of the light curve) will show whether this is the case.Spectroscopic binaries have their radial velocity that vary periodically, depending whether a star approaches or recedes from us and are detected thanks to this variation. If the sources have a similar magnitude, the spectral lines of the two can be seen, though frequently only the ones from the brightest are seen. As the amplitude of the radial velocity variation increases when the period is shorter, small period binaries are more frequent, typically from hours to months. All these sources are not resolved, and their duplicity would remain unnoticed if Gaia did not possess astrometric, photometric and spectroscopic instruments. Gaia is able to detect thousands of these kind of binaries, sometimes by two of the 3 instruments, and to compute the orbital parameters, provided the motion is larger than the uncertainty of the measurements. In the best case, it is then possible to estimate the mass of the companions and sometimes their individual magnitudes too. From this, one may discover among normal stars some hidden treasures such as an exoplanet, or, on the heavy side, a white dwarf or other compact companions.Credits: ESA/Gaia/DPACLicense: CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO, creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/igo Acknowledgements: ESA/Gaia/DPAC/CU4/NSS, Nathalie Bauchet
Sky-projected motion of a binary star ESA Gaia Mission 2022-06-21 | Full details on Gaia's catalogue of non-single stars: https://www.cosmos.esa.int/web/gaia/dr3-non-single-starsThis video was published for Gaia Data Release 3 on 13 June 2022.This video illustrates the sky-projected motion of HD 33115 (Gaia DR3 4810832695483445760), a new binary star discovered by Gaia. The left panel shows the inferred parallax and proper motion over 1000 days, the middle panel shows the modelled orbital motion of the starlight coming from the system over the same time and to scale, and the right panel shows the superposition of both motions, which is what Gaia has actually observed. The animation shows how the stellar image, shown as a white dot, moves across the sky.Credit: ESA/Gaia/DPACLicense: CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/igo)Acknowledgement: Johannes Sahlmann (RHEA Group for ESA) who made use of github.com/ManimCommunity/manim
The wavy pattern seen in Gaia data (Gaia Data Release 3) ESA Gaia Mission 2022-06-21 | Full description in this story: https://www.cosmos.esa.int/web/gaia/dr3-where-do-the-stars-go-or-come-fromAnimation created for Gaia's data release 3 on 13 June 2022: https://www.cosmos.esa.int/web/gaia/data-release-3This video contains an animated infographic which explains how the wavypattern arises in a plot of proper motion along galactic longitude versusgalactic longitude, where the plot is made for the selection of young disk('OBA') stars from the paper "Gaia Data Release 3: Golden Sample of Astrophysical Parameters" by the Gaia Collaboration, Creevey, O.L., et al.The video starts out orienting the viewer with the aid of the Gaia Early Data Release 3 all-sky image of the brightness and colours of the stars. The relation with the Milky Way disk is made and then an animation follows which shows how the way the stars and the sun collectively revolve around the Milky Way centre gives rise to the pattern seen in the above described plot.Credits: ESA/Gaia/DPACLicense: CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO - creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/igoAcknowledgements:* Based on the paper by the Gaia Collaboration: Gaia Data Release 3: A Golden Sample of Astrophysical Parameters* Gaia Data Release 3 was published on June 13, 2022* Main Video/Data sets: ESA/Gaia/DPAC, Anthony Brown, Yves Frémat, Orlagh Creevey, Rosanna Sordo, Céline Reylé, Tineke Roegiers* Narrator: Orlagh Creevey* Ideas for video inspired by: Brunetti & Pfenniger, 2010, A&A 510, A34* Night sky image: ESA/Gaia/DPAC/André Moitinho, CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO* Milky Way image: Stefan Payne-Wardenaar* The video was created with Processing, Python/Matplotlib/Cartopy, FFmpeg, and GNU Bash* Code at: github.com/agabrown/milkyway-disk-proper-motions
