Gaia Alerts 2.4

The Gaia satellite, operated by the European Space Agency (ESA), is engaged in an ambitious scientific mission with a planned duration of five years. Its primary objective is to produce the most comprehensive and precise three-dimensional map of our galaxy, the Milky Way. This endeavor aims to catalog over one billion astronomical objects, including stars, planets, comets, asteroids, and quasars.

During its mission, Gaia will observe each targeted object approximately 70 times. These repeated measurements enable astronomers to determine the exact motions of individual stars and celestial bodies with remarkable accuracy, contributing significantly to our understanding of galactic dynamics.

An integral component of Gaia's observational initiative is the Gaia Alerts project. This system detects celestial objects that exhibit changes, appear suddenly, or disappear from the data obtained by Gaia. These transient objects include phenomena such as supernovae or black holes actively consuming stars. The project facilitates real-time dissemination of such discoveries to the global scientific community and public audiences.

The Gaia Alerts application enhances this capability by providing users with immediate notifications of new transient events detected by Gaia. The app offers several key features:

• Push notifications to deliver prompt updates on recent astronomical discoveries
• A visual map displaying the relative locations of new transient events within the constellation framework
• Detailed information for each alert, including images, classifications, positional data, magnitude, detection date, and relevant news articles
• An overview of the Gaia mission's objectives and scope