Gaia is an Even More Powerful Planet Hunter Than we Thought



ESA's Gaia mission is the most powerful astrometry mission ever built, intending to map out over a billion stars in the Milky Way. It has exceeded expectations, discovering white dwarfs and neutron stars and helping astronomers to discover ancient galaxy mergers. As a side benefit, Gaia is also a planet hunter, tracking stars so carefully that it can detect the tug of gravity from planets orbiting around them. By combining Gaia data with NASA's TESS mission, astronomers have realized they've got an even more powerful planet hunter on their hands.

Read the full story by Andy Tomaswick



About Gaia mission


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