Workshop2024:rationale

Gaia Space Mission and Science Alerts

The European Space Agency (ESA) launched the Gaia space mission in December 2013, with scientific operations commencing in July 2014. Shortly after, in September 2014, the Gaia Science Alerts (GSA) system made its first discovery of a transient event, Gaia14aaa. Since then, GSA has announced over 20,000 transients of various types, including supernovae, cataclysmic variables, novae, young stellar objects, microlensing events, R Coronae Borealis (RCrB) dimming stars, flaring quasars, and many others. Over the past decade, Gaia Alerts have significantly contributed to time-domain and transient astronomy, with numerous targets being extensively studied and the data widely used in multiple publications.

Global Telescope Network and BHTOM

The programme of Gaia Science Alerts was the main motivation for the establishment of a global telescope network dedicated to the long-term follow-up and monitoring of alerts from Gaia. Initiated in 2010, this network has expanded into a robust global research infrastructure comprising 100 telescopes. This expansion has been recently supported by the European Commission's OPTICON-Radionet Pilot grant. Currently, the network operates through a unique web service called BHTOM (Black Hole Target Observation Manager), which provides thousands of images of hundreds of targets each week. This service involves both professional astronomers and amateur observers, fostering a collaborative scientific community, and offers a unique opportunity for detailed monitoring of interesting targets without the need for observing proposals and data processing.

Celebrating!

Join us to celebrate 10 years of Gaia Science Alerts and 15 years of the telescope network! The upcoming workshop in Heraklion, Crete, will provide an opportunity to revisit the achievements of Gaia Science Alerts and its follow-up programme. The event will showcase a variety of scientific cases and discuss potential future developments.