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Credit & Copyright: Galaxy Illustration: N. Risinger
(skysurvey.org);
Star Data: Gaia Mission, ESA, A. S. Sellös (U. Heidelberg) et al.
Explanation:
What would it look like to return home from outside our galaxy?
Although designed to answer
greater questions,
data from ESA's robotic
Gaia mission is helping to provide a uniquely
modern perspective on humanity's place in the universe.
Gaia
orbits the
Sun near the
Earth and resolves
stars' positions so precisely that it can determine a
slight shift from its changing vantage point over the course of a year, a shift
that is proportionately smaller for more
distant stars -- and so
determines distance.
In the first sequence of
the video,
an illustration of the
Milky Way is shown that soon
resolves into a three-dimensional
visualization of Gaia star data.
A few notable stars are labelled with their
common names, while others stars are labelled with numbers from a
Gaia catalog.
Eventually, the
viewer arrives in our stellar neighborhood
where many stars were tracked by Gaia, and soon at our home star Sol,
the Sun.
At the video's end, the reflective glow of Sol's third planet becomes visible:
Earth.
Star Data: Gaia Mission, ESA, A. S. Sellös (U. Heidelberg) et al.
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NASA Web Site Statements, Warnings, and Disclaimers
NASA Official: Jay Norris. Specific rights apply.
A service of: LHEA at NASA / GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.
Based on Astronomy Picture
Of the Day
Publications with keywords: Sun - Milky Way
Publications with words: Sun - Milky Way
See also:
- APOD: 2024 November 5 Á Milky Way over Easter Island
- APOD: 2024 September 2 Á A Triangular Prominence Hovers Over the Sun
- APOD: 2024 August 18 Á A Solar Prominence Eruption from SDO
- APOD: 2024 July 29 Á Milky Way over Uluru
- APOD: 2024 July 28 Á Sun Dance
- Prominences and Filaments on the Active Sun
- APOD: 2024 May 29 Á Stairway to the Milky Way