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Gaia
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Gaia spacecraft
Discover how the Gaia satellite helps map the stars in space
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The orbits of the planets and other elements of the solar system, including asteroids, Kuiper belt, Oort cloud, comet
Space Odyssey
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Gaia spacecraft
Gaia spacecraft Artist's conception of Gaia.

Gaia

European Space Agency satellite
Written by
Erik Gregersen
Erik Gregersen is a senior editor at Encyclopaedia Britannica, specializing in the physical sciences and technology. Before joining Britannica in 2007, he worked at the University of Chicago Press on the...
Erik Gregersen
Fact-checked by
Britannica Editors
Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree....
Britannica Editors
History

Gaia, European Space Agency (ESA) satellite that provided highly accurate position and velocity measurements for more than one billion stars. It was launched on December 19, 2013, by a Soyuz rocket from Kourou, French Guiana. Gaia carried two telescopes, each with an aperture of 1.45 by 0.5 metres (4.76 by 1.6 feet), with an angle of 106.5° between their lines of sight. Gaia slowly rotated, allowing it to scan the entire sky. Positions for the...

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