"My God, it's full of stars!"

The European Space Agency’s Gaia spacecraft team has dropped its long-awaited trove of data about 1.7 billion stars. 

In addition to the 1.7 billion stars, this second release of data from Gaia contains the motions and color of 1.3 billion stars relative to the Sun, as well as how the stars relate to things in the distant background based on the Earth’s position. It also features radial velocities, amount of dust, and surface temperatures of lots of stars, and a catalogue of over 14,000 Solar System objects, including asteroids. There is a #load of data in this release.

Incredible New View of the Milky Way Is the Largest Star Map Ever


Link to ESA press release with links to the data and plenty of visualisations: ESA

a reply to: MindBodySpiritComplex

I wish there was better zooming options, so one could properly get lost.. still very awesome..


I think in the near future we might get a superduper version of this...

a reply to: solve

Preferably VR or at least 4K

a reply to: 0311Warrior

VR, yes please!

originally posted by: 0311Warrior
a reply to: solve

Preferably VR or at least 4K

Seeing with your own eyes is waaaay more awesome.

a reply to: solve

Here it is in 8K.
sci.esa.int...
15.6 MB JPEG

a reply to: gortex

Beyond stunning

Wow, you can feel and get since of depth in that image, like we're just a molecule in the cloud of a fish fart hovering in the sea water.

a reply to: 0311Warrior
a reply to: solve


from the second link in the OP:

A series of 360-degree videos and other Virtual Reality visualisation resources are available at sci.esa.int...

Every single time I have gone hunting in the rockies I always ended up missing more days hunting because I cant tear myself away from star watching till late at night.

Its 100% worth it, 10k + elevation no lights to interfere and clear skies its something else to see.

We are but a grain of fine sand within an endless beach..

a reply to: MindBodySpiritComplex

Thank you wow!

originally posted by: skywatcher44
We are but a grain of fine sand within an endless beach..

At least the planet has some longevity. As the poor microscopic scum that clings to its surface, we're gone in an instant.

So why worry?

That's neat...because they came out a few months back saying the universe is now 10 times bigger than previously thought. Estimated at over 200 Trillion Galaxies they can observe. So........
a reply to: MindBodySpiritComplex

Sometimes I ponder if reincarnation is from planet to planet, and not earth species to species. In other words; We live many lives, one after another but on different planets.

duplicate

duplicate

Very cool. Is this in visible light, or infrared?

will not to detract from the engineering and science acheivements of the GAIA system

stop looking at stats on you phone // comp // teevee

get the fook out in the real world and look at a tiny segment of the milky way

its bonkers

just lay back on a blanket // ground sheet with suitible cloths for the night temmps - and marvel

yes -= the galaxies millions of light years away are amazing - but so is our " local " bit of the universe

a reply to: gortex

Thank you! Well worth the HDD space.

Now, realize... every single point of light is a sun. Every sun has a very good probability of having planets rotating around it. If one... just one... of those planets is the right distance from its sun and has a similar chemical makeup to Earth, there's a very good probability it has life, and a reasonable probability it has intelligent life.

"In my Father's house are many mansions..."

TheRedneck