The European Space Agency ESA shut down its space observatory mission Gaia on March 27 2023 Before s...........

General Science (CDS) Science & Technology

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The European Space Agency (ESA) shut down its space observatory mission, Gaia on March 27, 2023.

Before shutting down, Gaia used its thrusters to drift into its retirement orbit.

What significant contributions did Gaia make during its operation?

1. Created the most precise 3D map of the Milky Way, tracking over 1.8 billion stars.

2. Discovered a new kind of black hole only detectable by gravitational effects.

3. Detected over 150,000 asteroids, projecting their orbits.

4. Positioned itself in the Lagrange point 1 (L1), allowing an unobstructed view of the cosmos.

1, 2, and 3 only

1 and 4 only

2, 3, and 4 only

1, 2, 3, and 4

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Explanation:

1. Gaia indeed created the most precise 3D map of the Milky Way and tracked over 1.8 billion stars. This was one of its primary goals and major achievements.

2. Gaia discovered a new kind of black hole. These black holes are 'truly black' and detectable only by their gravitational effects, marking an extraordinary discovery.

3. Gaia detected over 150,000 asteroids and projected their orbits, some of which could potentially threaten Earth.

4. Gaia was positioned in Lagrange point 2 (L2), not L1. This position allowed an unobstructed view of the cosmos.