Mark McCaughrean on Nostr: After more than a decade ceaselessly surveying the sky to measure the positions, ...

After more than a decade ceaselessly surveying the sky to measure the positions, distances, & motions of stars in our Milky Way & beyond, ESA’s Gaia mission stopped taking data today.

After some tech tests it will be moved away from L2 & turned off forever in March.

This amazing mission has transformed modern astronomy in ways that will live on deep into the future & its final two catalogue releases still to come promise new treasures galore.

Ad astra, Gaia ✨

https://www.cosmos.esa.int/web/gaia/end-of-observations