Science: Reference: ESA’s Gaia Mission Produces Richest Star Map to Date, High-Precision Measurements of Nearly 1.7 Billion Stars; 360-Degree Interactive Visualizations Available

From the European Space Agency (ESA):

ESA’s Gaia mission has produced the richest star catalogue to date, including high-precision measurements of nearly 1.7 billion stars and revealing previously unseen details of our home Galaxy.
A multitude of discoveries are on the horizon after this much awaited release, which is based on 22 months of charting the sky. The new data includes positions, distance indicators and motions of more than one billion stars, along with high-precision measurements of asteroids within our Solar System and stars beyond our own Milky Way Galaxy.
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The new data release, which covers the period between 25 July 2014 and 23 May 2016, pins down the positions of nearly 1.7 billion stars, and with a much greater precision. For some of the brightest stars in the survey, the level of precision equates to Earth-bound observers being able to spot a Euro coin lying on the surface of the Moon.

Read the Complete Announcement, View Images and Video
Resources
Direct to Gaia Data Archive
Direct to Gaia 360-Degree Interactive/VR Visualisations Resources
Video game also available. 
Direct to Gaia Sky 
“A real 3D, astronomy visualisation”
Direct to Gaia Visualisation Interface For Scientists

Filed under: Data Files, News