The European Space Agency (ESA) Gaia Observatory was launched in 2013. Since then, the mission has been mapping the Milky Way, seeking to obtain the largest possible set of data about our galaxy.
Information is provided in batches. The first set came in 2016, with the second set to be launched in 2018. This Monday (13), another data set has been published, now adding details about 1.6 billion stars and 158,000 asteroids.
This time, scientists decided to go further. They showed not only the position of celestial bodies in space, but also the chemical composition of stars and their radial velocity – the measure by which stars are approaching or moving away from Earth.
Such observations can reveal the details of the Milky Way. That’s because the “Big Bang” itself produced only hydrogen and helium, which are both light elements. The heavy elements, known as metals, originated from the core of stars. When these plasma balls explode in supernovae, the elements are released in the form of gas and dust, creating an environment conducive to the formation of other stars.
for George Seabrookan astronomer at University College London, UK, “The chemical mapping of Gaia is similar to the DNA sequences of the human genome. The more stars that have the known chemical composition, the better we can understand our galaxy as a whole.”
The data shows, for example, that stars closer to the center of the Milky Way are more metallic than stars at the edges. This formation of stars can help scientists understand where things originated and where they moved after they formed.
The new set of data could reveal asteroids that are nearly impossible to detect from Earth as they orbit close to the sun. Since these rocks come from locations as far away as the asteroid belt, they are capable of provide information About other potentially dangerous rocks for our planet.
