Smartphones have amazing onboard cameras these days. But they are no no match for the billion pixel instrument onboard a European Space Agency’s telescope about to release its first image of stars in our galaxy. The ESA’s Gaia spacecraft was launched several years ago, but its first detailed images are finally about to be unveiled, and they should be glorious: Astronomers the world over are about to get their first taste of a tool that will transform their working lives. Gaia, a space telescope launched by the European Space Agency (ESA) in late 2013, will release its first map of the Milky Way on 14 September.