{"id":18554,"date":"2018-04-26T00:26:46","date_gmt":"2018-04-25T16:26:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp-productionenv-bjg9h2g2bgg5b8aa.southeastasia-01.azurewebsites.net\/news\/gaia-probe-maps-the-comings-and-goings-of-galaxys-stars-and-scientists-go-gaga\/"},"modified":"2018-04-26T00:26:46","modified_gmt":"2018-04-25T16:26:46","slug":"gaia-probe-maps-the-comings-and-goings-of-galaxys-stars-and-scientists-go-gaga","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/news\/gaia-probe-maps-the-comings-and-goings-of-galaxys-stars-and-scientists-go-gaga\/","title":{"rendered":"Gaia probe maps the comings and goings of galaxy\u2019s stars \u2013 and scientists go gaga"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Gaia
A newly released image from the European Space Agency\u2019s Gaia star-mapping mission shows a full-sky view of our Milky Way galaxy and neighboring galaxies in color. (ESA \/ Gaia \/ DPAC)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The European Space Agency has released the world\u2019s most exhaustive star catalog, pinpointing the positions of nearly 1.7 billion stars.<\/p>\n

Today\u2019s release, based on 22 months\u2019 worth of data from ESA\u2019s Gaia sky-mapping satellite, follows up on an initial version of the catalog that was released in 2016. This second release adds readings from the period between September 2015 and May 2016.<\/p>\n

The Gaia mission\u2019s second data release was presented at the ILA Berlin Air and Space Show in Germany. In addition to the positional data, the new catalog lists parallax and velocity readings for 1.3 billion stars \u2014 making it easy for astronomers to plot their distances and motions with respect to Earth.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe observations collected by Gaia are redefining the foundations of astronomy,\u201d G\u00fcnther Hasinger, ESA\u2019s director of science, said in a news release.<\/p>\n

Astronomy fans agreed, and gushed over the treasure trove on Twitter:<\/p>\n