Gaia data version 3 includes new and updated details about the approximately two billion stars in our galaxy. Chemical compositions, stellar temperatures, colors, masses, ages and the speed at which stars travel to or away from us are all included in the list (radial velocity). Recently published spectroscopic data provided much of this information. It also has specific subsets of stars, such as those that change brightness over time. This image shows four sky maps created with the latest ESA Gaia data released on June 13, 2022. © ESA / Gaia / DPAC. CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO, CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO This dataset contains the most complete list of binary stars, asteroids and moon planets in the Solar System, as well as millions of galaxies and quasars outside our Galaxy.
Starquakes
Gaia’s ability to locate stars is one of the most striking findings from the new data. An astral earthquake looks vaguely like an earthquake that changes the shapes of the stars. These earthquakes reveal more about the inner workings of the star. In thousands of stars, Gaia discovered intense non-radiant stars. It also revealed unusual vibrations in stars that had never been seen before. According to current theory, these stars should have no earthquake. However, Gaia spotted them on their surface.
The DNA of the stars
The composition of the stars can possibly tell about their birthplace and their subsequent journey, hence the history of the Galaxy. With today’s data release, Gaia reveals the largest chemical map of the galaxy combined with 3D motion, from our solar neighborhood to the smaller galaxies surrounding ours. Some stars are made up of heavier metals. After death, these stars release these metals into the gas and dust between the stars, called interstellar medium, from which new stars are formed. Active star formation and death create an environment enriched with metals. Therefore, the chemical composition of a star is similar to its DNA, giving us critical information about its origin. Gaia also revealed stars with primordial material. Minerals are more abundant in stars closer to the center and at the level of the galaxy than in stars farther away. Based on their chemical composition, Gaia could identify stars from galaxies other than ours. Alejandra Recio-Blanco of the Observatoire de la Côte d’Azur in France, a member of the Gaia partnership, said: “Our galaxy is a beautiful crucible with stars. This diversity is extremely important because it tells us the story of the formation of our galaxy. Reveals the processes of migration within our galaxy and the accumulation of outer galaxies. It also shows that our Sun and we all belong to an ever-changing system, formed thanks to the assembly of stars and gases of different origins.
Binary stars, asteroids, quasars and more
A new list of binary stars describes in detail the mass and history of more than 800,000 binary systems, while a new study of 156,000 asteroid rock bodies reveals more about the origin of our Solar System. Gaia is also discovering about 10 million variable stars, enigmatic macromolecules between stars and quasars and galaxies beyond our cosmic neighborhood. This image shows the orbits of more than 150,000 asteroids in the data release of Gaia 3, from the interior of the Solar System to the Trojan asteroids in the distance of Jupiter, with different color codes. The yellow circle in the center represents the Sun. Blue represents the interior of the Solar System, where near-Earth asteroids, Mars junctions, and terrestrial planets are located. The main belt, between Mars and Jupiter, is green. The Trojans of Jupiter are red. Thanks: P. Tanga (Observatoire de la Côte d’Azur) © ESA / Gaia / DPAC; CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO, CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO Timo Prusti, Project Scientist for Gaia at ESA, said: “Unlike other missions that target specific objects, Gaia is a research mission. This means that Gaia is sure to make discoveries that other more dedicated missions would miss, while exploring the entire sky with billions of stars many times over. “This is one of its strengths and we look forward to the astronomical community dive into our new data to discover more about our galaxy and its environment than we could have imagined.” The Gaia 3 data release was released during a virtual media update to
