How does the Gaia mission determine the precise positions and distances of stars within the Milky Way?
Answer
By using parallax to observe the apparent shift of objects against a distant background
The Gaia mission, launched by the European Space Agency, revolutionized galactic mapping by utilizing parallax. Parallax is the apparent displacement or shift of an object against a distant background when viewed from different points in space. By measuring these minute shifts for over a billion stars, Gaia provides high-confidence, 3D distance measurements, allowing scientists to move from estimating distances to precise observation.
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