Cambridge Astronomers in Space Agency Mission

Scientists at the University's Institute of Astronomy are involved in two major space missions, one to chart the origins and future of the Milky Way and another to find planets which resemble Earth. The missions are included in a package of six research projects recently announced by the European Space Agency which will determine European space missions for the next 12 years.

Dr Gerry Gilmore, of the Institute of Astronomy, leads research in the UK on one of the missions, called GAIA, which aims to measure a billion stars in the Milky Way and will also allow astronomers to spot asteroids travelling towards the earth.

"The key thing is that we can look at these stars with unbelievable accuracy," said Dr Gilmore. "The mission will produce a stereoscopic video of the sky, with each star measured with an accuracy similar to the thickness of a human hair seen from a distance of 1,000km ."

The Institute is also involved in another of the European Space Agency missions, called Eddington, which will study the internal structure of stars and search out planets similar to our own.

Earth-like planets are too small to detect in any way except indirectly through the light they block out when passing in front of their parent sun.

"If something passes in front of a star, it could be an Earth-like planet," explained Dr Gilmore. "Once we have found a planet that is the right size and distance from its sun to be like Earth, we can design specialised satellites to explore further."

Further information:
GAIA - The Galactic Census Project