The European Space Agency's Gaia spacecraft has discovered approximately 500000 new stars

2023-10-12

On the 10th, the European Space Agency announced that the data obtained by the Gaia spacecraft helped researchers discover about 500000 previously undetected stars in the Omega Centauri cluster, and accurately located over 150000 asteroids in the solar system. In June 2022, the European Space Agency released the third batch of galactic exploration data collected using the Gaia space probe, creating a relatively complete multidimensional map of the Milky Way, covering data from nearly 2 billion stars and over 800000 galactic binary systems. According to a press release released by the European Aviation Administration on the 10th, the multi-dimensional map of the Milky Way released in 2022 did not fully cover areas with particularly dense stars in the sky, such as globular clusters. These star clusters are one of the oldest objects in the universe and have outstanding value for studying the past of the universe. However, the bright core area of the globular cluster is filled with stars, making it difficult for telescopes to obtain clear images, thus forming the "missing part of the cosmic puzzle". According to the European Space Agency, in order to fill the gap in the galaxy map, the Gaia probe chose the Omega Centauri cluster, which is the largest globular cluster visible from Earth. The Gaia probe does not only focus on a single star as usual, but instead uses a special mode to realistically map the broader sky around the cluster core every time the cluster enters the field of view. It is reported that the Gaia probe is currently exploring eight other regions in this way. Alexei Mintz, a researcher at the Leibniz Institute of Astrophysics in Germany and a member of the "Gaia" collaborative project, stated that these new data can not only fill the gaps in galaxy maps, but also help to study the structure of star clusters, star distribution, and movement, thereby creating a complete large-scale map of the Omega cluster in the constellation Centauri. In addition, the European Space Agency stated that the data from the Gaia probe accurately located the positions of 156823 asteroids, thereby improving understanding of small celestial bodies in nearby space. The data collected by the detector also provides clues to confirm the gravitational lensing effect. The Gaia probe was launched in December 2013 and officially put into scientific observation in July of the following year. Its main task is to conduct a "stellar census" by drawing multidimensional maps of the Milky Way and other galaxies. The detector will continue to scan deep space until fuel runs out in 2025. (New News Agency)

Edit:He Chuanning    Responsible editor:Su Suiyue

Source:Xinhua

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