Related papers: Learning about Galactic structure with Gaia astrom…
We explore the motivation behind large stellar surveys in Galactic astronomy, in particular, surveys that measure the photometric, phase space and abundance properties of thousands or millions of stars. These observations are essential to…
In this paper, we first summarize the results of a large-scale double-blind tests campaign carried out for the realistic estimation of the Gaia potential in detecting and measuring planetary systems. Then, we put the identified capabilities…
The Gaia space project, planned for launch in 2011, is one of the ESA cornerstone missions, and will provide astrometric, photometric and spectroscopic data of very high quality for about one billion stars brighter than V=20. This will…
Modern theories of galaxy formation predict that the Galactic stellar halo was hierarchically assembled from the accretion and disruption of smaller systems. This hierarchical assembly is expected to produce a high degree of structure in…
We discuss the prospects of high precision pointing of our transmitter to habitable planets around Galactic main sequence stars. For an efficient signal delivery, the future sky positions of the host stars should be appropriately…
A suite of vast stellar surveys mapping the Milky Way, culminating in the Gaia mission, is revolutionizing the empirical information about the distribution and properties of stars in the Galactic stellar disk. We review and lay out what…
Astrometry from space has unique advantages over ground-based observations: the all-sky coverage, relatively stable, and temperature and gravity invariant operating environment delivers precision, accuracy and sample volume several orders…
Gaia is a cornerstone mission of the European Space Agency (ESA) selected in 2000, with a target launch date of 2011. The Gaia mission will perform a survey of about 1 billion sources brighter than V=20. Its goal is to provide astrometry…
In this first paper we simulate the population of disc Red Clump stars to be observed by Gaia. We generate a set of test particles and we evolve it in a 3D barred Milky Way like galactic potential. We assign physical properties of the Red…
This contribution to the Stellar Clusters & Associations: A RIA Workshop on Gaia deals with surveys of stars, in particular spectroscopic surveys, with attention to their impact on cluster studies, and their connectionwith Gaia. I review…
The IACOB spectroscopic survey of Galactic OB stars is an ambitious observational project aimed at compiling a large, homogeneous, high-resolution database of optical spectra of massive stars observable from the Northern hemisphere. The…
We review the mathematical models available for relativistic astrometry, discussing the different approaches and their accuracies in the context of the modern experiments from space like Gaia and GAME, and we show how these models can be…
A general overview of the understanding of our Galaxy is presented following the lines of its main structures: halo, disc, bulge/bar. This review is emphasising some "Time Domain Astronomy" contributions. On the one hand the distance and…
The era of high-precision astrometry has dawned upon us. The potential of Gaia $\mu$as-level precision in positional measurements is about to be unleashed in the field of extrasolar planetary systems. The Gaia data hold the promise for much…
The second Gaia data release (DR2), contains very precise astrometric and photometric properties for more than one billion sources, astrophysical parameters for dozens of millions, radial velocities for millions, variability information for…
A complicated and ambitious space mission like Gaia needs a careful monitoring and evaluation of the functioning of all components of the satellite. This has to be performed on different time scales, by different methods, and on different…
Using the VLBA, the BeSSeL survey has provided distances and proper motions of young massive stars, allowing an accurate measure of the Galactic spiral structure. By the same technique, we are planning to map the inner Galaxy using…
The third Gaia data release is published in two stages. The early part, Gaia EDR3, gives very precise astrometric and photometric properties for nearly two billion sources together with seven million radial velocities from Gaia DR2. The…
We describe the preliminary results of a ground-based observing campaign aimed at building a grid of approximately 200 spectro-photometric standard stars (SPSS), with an internal $\simeq 1$\% accuracy (and sub-percent precision), tied to…
One of the most promising space missions of ESA is the astrometric satellite Gaia, which will provide very precise astrometry and multicolour photometry, for all 1.3 billion objects to V~20, and radial velocities with accuracies of a few…