Dr Nicholas A. Walton, Member of ESA Gaia Science Team, Lead of the UK Gaia DPAC project, Institute of Astronomy, University of Cambridge; Imperial Alumnus.
We heard from the UK’s leading expert on this ambitious mission to chart a three-dimensional map of our Galaxy and, in the process, revealing the composition, formation and evolution of the Milky Way.
Gaia is a space observatory of the European Space Agency (ESA), launched in 2013 and expected to operate until c. 2022. The spacecraft is designed for astrometry: measuring the positions, distances and motions of stars with unprecedented precision. The mission aims to construct by far the largest and most precise 3D space catalogue ever made, totalling approximately 1 billion astronomical objects, mainly stars, but also planets, comets, asteroids and quasars, among others.
This live streamed lecture was part of our programme of events for the academic year 2021-22.