Yesterday at 22:46
Photos from ESA
The European Space Agency just published a new incredibly detailed map of the Milky Way.
This extraordinary compilation of stars was made possible by the power of the Gaia Space Telescope, launched in orbit in 2013. The hi-tech device has since 2013 caught a billion astronomical objects, among which stars, planets, comets, asteroids, and quasar.
The telescope is able to measure the movement of stars in relation with the solar system. It also calculates the parallax, which is essentially the change of star coordinates depending on the rotation the Earth around the Sun).
The Gaia telescope also measured the brightness, color, and temperatures of the stars.
