Skip to main content Accessibility help

We use cookies to distinguish you from other users and to provide you with a better experience on our websites. Close this message to accept cookies or find out how to manage your cookie settings.

Close cookie message
×
Hostname: page-component-76fb5796d-x4r87 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-04-27T14:24:01.225Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

6 - Hipparcos and Gaia: the development of space astrometry in Europe

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  19 October 2009

By
M.A.C. Perryman
Edited by
V. Mártínez Pillet ,
A. Aparicio  and
F. Sánchez
M.A.C. Perryman
Affiliation:
Astrophysics Missions Division, ESA-ESTEC, Noordwijk, The Netherlands
V. Mártínez Pillet
Affiliation:
Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias, Tenerife
A. Aparicio
Affiliation:
Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias, Tenerife
F. Sánchez
Affiliation:
Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias, Tenerife
Get access

Summary

The operational phase of European Space Agency (ESA)'s Hipparcos mission ended 10 years ago, in 1993. Hipparcos was the first satellite dedicated to the accurate measurement of stellar positions. Within 10 years, ESA's follow-on mission, Gaia, should be part way through its operational phase. I summarize the basic principles underlying the measurement of star positions and distances, present the operational principles and scientific achievements of Hipparcos, and demonstrate how the knowledge acquired from that programme has been used to develop the observational and operational principles of Gaia – a vastly more performant space experiment which will revolutionize our knowledge of the structure and evolution of our galaxy.

Type
Chapter
Information
Payload and Mission Definition in Space Sciences , pp. 219 - 232
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2005

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Save book to Kindle

To save this book to your Kindle, first ensure coreplatform@cambridge.org is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.

Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.

Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.

Available formats
×

Save book to Dropbox

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.

Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

Available formats
×