This video shows the huge progress that has been made by measuring ~60 000 reflectance spectra (colour and composition) of Solar System asteroids in Gaia’s data release 3, as compared to 6 000 spectra previously obtained for 4 500 asteroids. This marks a breakthrough in the analysis of the chemical composition of asteroids, which – together with their orbits – gives precious information about their origin and classification.
Learn more: https://bit.ly/GaiaDR3
Credit: ESA/Gaia/DPAC, CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO.
Page last updated: 13 June 2022