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    ESA > Our Activities > Space Science > Gaia

    High-speed

    High-speed Gaia

    From cleanroom to liftoff, watch an incredible time-lapse movie of Gaia's final preparations on Earth before shooting for the stars
    Liftoff

    Liftoff replay

    Watch a replay of ESA's billion-star surveyor Gaia launching into space at 09:12 GMT/10:12 CET this morning
    Inside

    Inside Gaia’s camera

    How Gaia’s billion-pixel camera will study a billion stars
    Gaia

    Gaia back in time

    Step back in time and explore the Gaia mission’s historical roots with our new series of articles on the history of astrometry, the ancient science of charting the sky
    Gaia

    Gaia launch campaign

    Latest spacecraft pictures from Kourou
    Gaia

    Gaia blog

    Launch campaign and commissioning
    Guide

    Guide to our Galaxy

    Take a virtual journey from the centre to the outskirts of the Milky Way
    Archive

    Latest News

    Gaia discovers its first supernova12 September 2014

    Gaia discovers its first supernova12 September 2014 While scanning the sky to measure the positions and movements of stars in our Galaxy, Gaia has discovered its first stellar explosion in another galaxy far, far away.

    Gaia: ‘Go’ for science29 July 2014

    Gaia: ‘Go’ for science29 July 2014 Following extensive in-orbit commissioning and several unexpected challenges, ESA’s billion-star surveyor, Gaia, is now ready to begin its science mission.

    Gaia comes into focus06 February 2014

    Gaia comes into focus06 February 2014 ESA’s billion-star surveyor Gaia is slowly being brought into focus. This test image shows a dense cluster of stars in the Large Magellanic Cloud, a satellite galaxy of our Milky Way.

    The experts behind Gaia's arrival at nothingness15 January 2014

    The experts behind Gaia's arrival at nothingness15 January 2014 With a final, modest, thruster burn yesterday afternoon, ESA’s billion-star surveyor finalised its entry into orbit around ‘L2’, a virtual point far out in space. But how do you orbit nothing? And who can show you how to get there, anyway?

    Journey to a billion suns – world premiere of planetarium show08 January 2014

    Journey to a billion suns – world premiere of planetarium show08 January 2014 A new planetarium show, Journey to a billion Suns, premieres today in Hamburg, Germany, to tell the fascinating story of mapping the Milky Way, from ancient times to ESA’s recently launched Gaia mission.

    Gaia enters its operational orbit08 January 2014

    Gaia enters its operational orbit08 January 2014 ESA’s billion-star surveyor Gaia is now in its operational orbit around a gravitationally stable virtual point in space called ‘L2’, 1.5 million km from Earth.

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          • How many stars are there in the Universe?
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