Hipparcos Astrometry Satellite Model

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Hipparcos astrometry satellite 1:6 scale model

1:6 scale model of Hipparcos astrometry satellite spacecraft made by the European Space Agency (ESA) in 1984-85.

Hipparcos is an acronym for High Precision Parallax Collecting Satellite; it also refers to the Greek astronomer Hipparchus (190-120 BC) who first determined the Moon's distance from Earth.

[edit] How it works

Launched in August 1989, Hipparcos successfully observed the celestial sphere for 3.5 years before operations ceased in March 1993. It pinpointed the positions of more than one hundred thousand stars with high precision, and more than one million stars with lesser precision. The final star catalogues, the Hipparcos Catalogue and the Tycho Catalogue, were completed in August 1996 and published by ESA in June 1997.

Hipparcos turned slowly on its axis and repeatedly scanned right around the sky on different slants. It measured angles between widely separated stars, and recorded their brightness, which were often variable from one visit to the next. Each star selected for study was visited about 100 times during four years.

By measuring the apparent motion of nearby stars with respect to those further away (parallaxes) Hipparcos was able to calculate distances to the stars.

[edit] Memories

Do you remember Hipparcos? Add your memories.

[edit] In the Science Museum's Records

Inv. No: 1986-850