<p>European Space Agency's Gaia spacecraft is facing severe hurdles out in deep space. Gaia has been sending precise measurements ever since its launch in 2013. But in the past few weeks, things haven't been going its way. The spacecraft has been struck by hyper-velocity space dust and the strongest solar storm in 20 years. This has created some issues with the spacecraft, ESA informed in an update.&nbsp;</p>

<p>In April, a micrometeoroid, struck Gaia, damaging the spacecraft’s protective cover. Smaller than a grain of sand, micrometeoroids are not something Gaia has been bothered by during its time in space. However, the recent incident saw the space body collide with it at high speed and at the wrong angle. As a result, Gaia's sensitive sensors have been disrupted as the collision created a small gap allowing in stray sunlight.&nbsp;</p>

<h2>Where is Gaia right now?</h2>

<p>Gaia is currently 1.5 million km from Earth at the second Sun-Earth Lagrange point (L2). So micrometeoroids are quite common in this region. Scientists got down to fixing the problem, but another one came banging through. Gaia has a billion-pixel camera that relies on a series of 106 charge-coupled devices (CCDs). The electronics controlling one of these CCDs went kaput in May.&nbsp;</p>

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<p>ESA said that this is the first time that Gaia has had a CCD issue in more than 10 years in space. The affected sensor was responsible for Gaia detecting stars, but in the absence of the CCD, there was nothing to validate its observations. So Gaia began to register thousands of false detections.</p>

<p>"Both recent incidents disrupted this process. As a result, the spacecraft began generating a huge number of false detections that overwhelmed our systems,” Edmund Serpell, Gaia spacecraft operations engineer at ESOC, said.</p>

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<h2>Solar storm hits Gaia</h2>

<p>ESA added that around the time the CCD failed, a massive solar storm also hit it. This is the same storm that caused auroras on Earth in May. Gaia was designed to work for six years and is way past that mark now. Solar radiation has never been a problem for it. But with time, its systems are likely aging and the solar storm might have added to its troubles.</p>

<p>The silver lining amidst all this, ESA says, is that they have been able to refocus the optics of Gaia’s twin telescopes, and as a result, the spacecraft is sending back the best data it ever has.<br />
&nbsp;</p>


European Space Agency's Gaia spacecraft is facing severe hurdles out in deep space. Gaia has been sending precise measurements ever since its launch in 2013. But in the past few weeks, things haven't been going its way.

European Space Agency's Gaia spacecraft is facing severe hurdles out in deep space. Gaia has been sending precise measurements ever since its launch in 2013. But in the past few weeks, things haven't been going its way. The spacecraft has been struck by hyper-velocity space dust and the strongest solar storm in 20 years. This has created some issues with the spacecraft, ESA informed in an update. In April, a micrometeoroid, struck Gaia, damaging the spacecraft’s protective cover. Smaller than a grain of sand, micrometeoroids are not something Gaia has been bothered by during its time in space. However, the recent incident saw the space body collide with it at high speed and at the wrong angle. As a result, Gaia's sensitive sensors have been disrupted as the collision created a small gap allowing in stray sunlight. Where is Gaia right now? Gaia is currently 1.5 million km from Earth at the second Sun-Earth Lagrange point (L2). So micrometeoroids are quite common in this region. Scientists got down to fixing the problem, but another one came banging through. Gaia has a billion-pixel camera that relies on a series of 106 charge-coupled devices (CCDs). The electronics controlling one of these CCDs went kaput in May. Also Read: AI flunks maths! It just failed to clearly answer which is higher, 13.8 or 13.11 ESA said that this is the first time that Gaia has had a CCD issue in more than 10 years in space. The affected sensor was responsible for Gaia detecting stars, but in the absence of the CCD, there was nothing to validate its observations. So Gaia began to register thousands of false detections. "Both recent incidents disrupted this process. As a result, the spacecraft began generating a huge number of false detections that overwhelmed our systems,” Edmund Serpell, Gaia spacecraft operations engineer at ESOC, said. × Solar storm hits Gaia ESA added that around the time the CCD failed, a massive solar storm also hit it. This is the same storm that caused auroras on Earth in May. Gaia was designed to work for six years and is way past that mark now. Solar radiation has never been a problem for it. But with time, its systems are likely aging and the solar storm might have added to its troubles. The silver lining amidst all this, ESA says, is that they have been able to refocus the optics of Gaia’s twin telescopes, and as a result, the spacecraft is sending back the best data it ever has.

At Lagrange point 2, micrometeoroids, solar storms and more threaten to end Gaia's journey

<p>An alert about a potential stellar oddity from the Gaia spacecraft might have solved the mystery behind an unusually brightening star. University of Washington doctoral student Anastasios Tzanidakis and research assistant professor of astronomy James Davenport, who were searching for “stars behaving strangely”, had been focussing on Gaia17bpp, a star that had gradually increased in luminosity over a 2.5-year period.</p>

<p>The two made their probe public at the 241st meeting of the American Astronomical Society in Seattle on Wednesday. They revealed that the star hasn't changed, but it has a strange companion responsible for what researchers call a “seven-year photobomb.”</p>

<p>“We believe that this star is part of an exceptionally rare type of binary system, between a large, puffy older star, Gaia17bpp, and a small companion star that is surrounded by an expansive disk of dusty material,” said Tzanidakis in a statement.</p>

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<p>“Based on our analysis, these two stars orbit each other over an exceptionally long period of time, as much as 1,000 years. So, catching this bright star being eclipsed by its dusty companion is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.”</p>

<p>The Gaia spacecraft was launched by the European Space Agency in 2013 and aims to create the most precise 3D map of the Milky Way galaxy to date. It started observing the star in 2014.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Gaia’s observations of the star put together with other observations of Gaia17bpp taken by Pan-STARRS1 telescope in Hawaii, the NASA WISE/NEOWISE mission and the Zwicky Transient Facility in California going back to 2010, led to the final results.</p>

<p>The astronomers simply happened to catch the star at the end of a years-long eclipse. Its brightness dimmed by 4.5 orders of magnitude, or 45,000 times, for seven years, from 2012 to 2019. None of the other stars near it displayed a similar activity.</p>

<p>“Over 66 years of observational history, we found no other signs of significant dimming in this star,” Tzanidakis said.</p>

<p>“Based on the data currently available, this star appears to have a slow-moving companion that is surrounded by a large disk of material,” Tzanidakis said. “If that material were in the solar system, it would extend from the sun to Earth’s orbit, or farther.”</p>

<p>There are other binary star systems that show a similar behaviour. A star in the Epsilon Aurigae experiences an eclipse for two out of every 27 years by a large unknown companion.</p>

<p>The giant star Betelgeuse also became the centre of attraction for astronomers when it dramatically dimmed in late 2019. Experts thought that it will explode into a supernova, but instead it experienced a titanic surface mass ejection, wherein it lost a substantial part of its visible surface.</p>

<p><em>(With inputs from agencies)</em></p>

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An alert about a potential stellar oddity from the Gaia spacecraft might have solved the mystery behind an unusually brightening star. University of Washington doctoral student Anastasios Tzanidakis and research assistant professor of astronomy James Davenport, who were searching for “stars behaving strangely”, had been focussing on Gaia17bpp, a star that had gradually increased in luminosity over a 2.

An alert about a potential stellar oddity from the Gaia spacecraft might have solved the mystery behind an unusually brightening star. University of Washington doctoral student Anastasios Tzanidakis and research assistant professor of astronomy James Davenport, who were searching for “stars behaving strangely”, had been focussing on Gaia17bpp, a star that had gradually increased in luminosity over a 2.5-year period. The two made their probe public at the 241st meeting of the American Astronomical Society in Seattle on Wednesday. They revealed that the star hasn't changed, but it has a strange companion responsible for what researchers call a “seven-year photobomb.” “We believe that this star is part of an exceptionally rare type of binary system, between a large, puffy older star, Gaia17bpp, and a small companion star that is surrounded by an expansive disk of dusty material,” said Tzanidakis in a statement. Also Read | Rare comet that was last seen 50,000 years ago to fly past Earth “Based on our analysis, these two stars orbit each other over an exceptionally long period of time, as much as 1,000 years. So, catching this bright star being eclipsed by its dusty companion is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.” The Gaia spacecraft was launched by the European Space Agency in 2013 and aims to create the most precise 3D map of the Milky Way galaxy to date. It started observing the star in 2014. Gaia’s observations of the star put together with other observations of Gaia17bpp taken by Pan-STARRS1 telescope in Hawaii, the NASA WISE/NEOWISE mission and the Zwicky Transient Facility in California going back to 2010, led to the final results. The astronomers simply happened to catch the star at the end of a years-long eclipse. Its brightness dimmed by 4.5 orders of magnitude, or 45,000 times, for seven years, from 2012 to 2019. None of the other stars near it displayed a similar activity. “Over 66 years of observational history, we found no other signs of significant dimming in this star,” Tzanidakis said. “Based on the data currently available, this star appears to have a slow-moving companion that is surrounded by a large disk of material,” Tzanidakis said. “If that material were in the solar system, it would extend from the sun to Earth’s orbit, or farther.” There are other binary star systems that show a similar behaviour. A star in the Epsilon Aurigae experiences an eclipse for two out of every 27 years by a large unknown companion. The giant star Betelgeuse also became the centre of attraction for astronomers when it dramatically dimmed in late 2019. Experts thought that it will explode into a supernova, but instead it experienced a titanic surface mass ejection, wherein it lost a substantial part of its visible surface. (With inputs from agencies) WATCH WION LIVE HERE You can now write for wionews.com and be a part of the community. Share your stories and opinions with us here.

Seven-year photobomb: A star emerging from an unusual seven-year eclipse has the astronomers in awe

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At Lagrange point 2, micrometeoroids, solar storms and more threaten to end Gaia's journey

Seven-year photobomb: A star emerging from an unusual seven-year eclipse has the astronomers in awe