- Start time:
2025-11-28 11:00
- End time:
2025-11-28 13:00
On November 28 at 11:00, in the Main Hall of the Research Council of Lithuania (Gediminas ave. 3, Vilnius), Ana Ulla, Professor at the University of Vigo and Member of the Gaia Data Processing and Analysis Consortium (DPAC) Consortium Team, will give a public lecture "GAIA: A Wealth of Galactic Achievements".
Abstract
The ESA Gaia mission, launched in 2013 and operated until its passivation in 2025, has produced the most precise and extensive astrometric survey to date, delivering positions, parallaxes, proper motions, multi-band photometry and spectroscopy for almost two thousand million Galactic and extragalactic sources. With parallax precisions reaching a few tens of microarcseconds for bright stars and homogeneous BP/RP and RVS spectroscopic data, Gaia has transformed studies of stellar evolution, Galactic structure, star clusters, binary populations and the cosmic distance scale. Previous public data releases culminated in DR3 (2022), which provided enhanced astrophysical parameters, variability characterisation and large spectroscopic samples. The forthcoming DR4 (expected for 2026) and final all-mission DR5 (~2030) will refine astrometric accuracy, extend epoch photometry and spectroscopy, and deliver the definitive Gaia catalogue. Together, these releases ensure Gaia’s long-term legacy as a cornerstone dataset for modern astrophysics, Galactic archaeology and cosmology.
Prof. Dr Ana Ulla holds a degree in Physical Sciences, specializing in Astrophysics. Her research lines include late stages of stellar evolution, exoplanets, astrobiology, and cultural astronomy, among others. She is a researcher in the GEOMA group at the Marine Research Center (CIM), and also collaborates with the Galician Group for the Gaia satellite (GGG) of ESA, preparing satellite data archives and supporting their scientific exploitation.
Dr A. Ulla have been involved in the project since 2006. Now, with the end of Gaia’s scientific observations, Ulla’s data processing work has intensified – researchers are working hard on producing the 4th data catalogue, which will likely be released in 2026 and will include objects across all categories—from Solar System bodies to exoplanets and distant galaxies.
Partners of the event: VU Faculty of Physics, Embajada de España en Lituania, International Astronomical Union (IAU), European Association for Astronomy Education (EAAE), Research Council of Lithuania (LMT).