Gaia: Surveying Heavens

Authors

  • Nidhi Sabu St.Thomas College, Palai
  • Thomaskutty Francis St. Joseph’s College Tiruchirappalli
  • Arun Roy CHRIST (Deemed to be University)
  • Sreeja S Kartha CMS College, Kottayam

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.12723/mjs.44.2

Abstract

In this paper we attempt to study an ongoing astrometry mission of the European Space Agency (ESA), named Gaia, whose aim is to make the largest and most precise three-dimensional map of our Galaxy. We present the scientific goals of Gaia and give a brief description of the spacecraft. We also present a preliminary analysis of comparing distance estimates of Be stars from the first Gaia data release, Gaia DR1, and Hipparcos mission. From our analysis, we confirm that Gaia stands out as a promising mission in terms of the distance measurements when compared to Hipparcos, particularly for distances greater than 1 kpc.

Author Biographies

Nidhi Sabu, St.Thomas College, Palai

Department of Physics, St.Thomas College, Palai - 686574, Kerala

Thomaskutty Francis, St. Joseph’s College Tiruchirappalli

Department of Physics, St. Joseph’s College Tiruchirappalli - 620002, Tamil Nadu

Sreeja S Kartha, CMS College, Kottayam

Department of Physics, CMS College, Kottayam - 686001, Kerala

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Additional Files

Published

2018-01-01