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The Billion Pixel Camera

A visit to the factory that made the Gaia space telescope, which will help answer questions about the Milky Way, including what lies at its centre.

The Milky Way, our galaxy, is a magnificent sight in the night sky, but we know surprisingly little about it for certain. What is its shape? How many stars does it actually contain? What lies at its centre?

The Gaia space telescope will answer these questions, being armed with the most advanced camera to leave our planet, and it will allow us to see our galaxy as we've never seen it before. The Sky at Night visits the factory in Chelmsford that made the astonishing sensor at the heart of the mission.

30 minutes

Meet January's guest experts

Meet January's guest experts
Find out about Jim Al-Khalili and the scientists unlocking the secrets of the Milky Way.


Milky Way taster

Milky Way taster

Gaia is about to transform our understanding of the Milky Way galaxy. Watch past 麻豆官网首页入口 clips to find out what we think we already know.

Credits

Role Contributor
Presenter Chris Lintott
Presenter Maggie Aderin-Pocock
Series Producer Rob Liddell
Executive Producer Jonathan Renouf

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