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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
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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

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