A European Space Agency space telescope launched in 1989, named for the ancient Greek astronomer Hipparchus, and dedicated to astrometry, the precise measurement of stars' positions, distances and motions. Its resulting catalog of over a hundred thousand stars, completed after the mission ended in 1993, was for years the most accurate stellar position catalog ever produced and the direct predecessor to the Gaia mission.
Facts
Observatory Type LocationElongated orbit through the Van Allen radiation belts after failing to reach the planned geostationary orbit 1 MeasuresThe positions, motions and distances of stars, astrometry 1 Operating PrincipleTurned slowly on its axis, scanning the sky at different angles, measuring angles between widely separated stars and recording their brightness 1 Connections
Associated With
Operated By
Source Wikipedia (space and spaceflight articles)
Additional Source Wikipedia: European Space AgencyLead section
Sources
1. Hipparcos overview, ESA
Launch section
Launched: August 1989
Orbit issues section
an elongated orbit that took it through the Van Allen belts
Mission overview section
To pinpoint the stars, their motions and distances
Operating method section
Hipparcos turned slowly on its axis and repeatedly scanned right around the sky at different angles. It measured angles between widely separated stars, and recorded their brightness.
Mission overview section, introduction
the first space experiment devoted to precision astrometry
View the SourceWikipedia: European Space Agency
Wikimedia FoundationOperated By: European Space Agency, Lead sectionQuote, Operated By: European Space Agency, Lead section
The European Space Agency (ESA; pronounced /ˈiːsə/ EE-sə) is a 23-member international organisation devoted to space exploration.
Hipparcos (Wikipedia)
In Group: Optical, Ultraviolet and Exoplanet Space Telescopes, Lead sentenceQuote, In Group: Optical, Ultraviolet and Exoplanet Space Telescopes, Lead sentence
It was the first space experiment devoted to precision astrometry, the accurate measurement of the positions and distances of celestial objects on the sky.
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