Save the date: Gaia Data Release 4 on December 2, 2026

On December 2, 2026, at exactly 12:00 p.m. CET, ESA will make the archive of the Gaia mission’s fourth major data release (Gaia DR4) available. The new results are based on five and a half years of observations—nearly twice as much as in Gaia DR3. For the first time, the release covers all planned data products for this entire period, including individual measurements of the observed celestial objects. As a result, the Gaia archive will grow to approximately 400 terabytes—about forty times the size of the previous version.

Together with the other German Gaia groups, the team from the Lohrmann Observatory will be present at the Großplanetarium Berlin for the data release. Further information about this event can be found here.

An overview of the contents of Gaia DR4, as well as links to scientific publications, videos, and additional information, can be found on the official ESA Gaia DR4 page.