Gaia Catalogue

Gaia is an ambitious space mission designed to create a highly detailed three-dimensional map of the Milky Way, enhancing our understanding of its composition, formation, and evolution. It aims to conduct a stereoscopic and kinematic census of approximately one billion stars by providing unprecedentedly accurate positional and radial velocity measurements. Gaia employs three main instruments: the Astrometric instrument (ASTRO) measures star positions, proper motions, and parallax; the Photometric instrument captures continuous star spectra from 320-1000 nm and calibrates ASTRO’s chromaticity; and the Radial Velocity Spectrometer (RVS) obtains radial velocities and high-resolution spectral data in the 847-874 nm band. This comprehensive dataset will revolutionize galactic astronomy, enabling precise studies of stellar positions, movements, and properties across the Milky Way and the Local Group.