DTPA Seminar: Ernst Paunzen

The Department of Theoretical Physics and Astrophysics invites you to the department seminary:

Ernst Paunzen: A user's perspective on the Gaia catalogues

I will give a user's perspective on the Gaia catalogues. This successful satellite mission brought new insights into stars and the Milky Way. I will review the tests and possible pitfalls of using parallax and proper motion measurements, including those related to binary systems. The commonly used photometric Gaia system is examined, and possibly more efficient alternatives are presented. Variable stars have to be treated with caution because the listed errors of the Gaia catalogues are strongly underestimated. Finally, the still unsatisfactory status of astrophysical parameters derived for upper main-sequence stars is demonstrated.