Inside Gaia's billion-pixel camera

ESA's Gaia mission will produce an unprecedented 3D map of our Galaxy by mapping, with exquisite precision, the position and motion of a billion stars. The key to this is the billion-pixel camera at the heart of its dual telescope. This animation illustrates how the camera works.

See http://sci.esa.int/gaia/53281-inside-gaias-billion-pixel-camera/ for a more detailed description.

Credits: ESA