Distribution of the observations of Solar System objects in solar elongation as a function of time. Colour is related to data density. Two overlapping sinusoids appear, corresponding to the variation in the directions in which the scanning plane of Gaia intersects the ecliptic due to the precession of the spin axis of the satellite. The peaks correspond to periods in which the ecliptic is crossed by the scan both at ∼45° and in the opposite direction ∼135°. In these conditions, the scanning plane is perpendicular to the ecliptic. Scattered data correspond to detections of objects at high ecliptic inclination. The nodes of the sinusoids are around quadrature (90° elongation), when the scanning plane cuts the ecliptic at 45°. An initial period without precession (enforcing the ecliptic pole scanning law) is visible. Three gaps appear, corresponding to technical operations preventing the normal collection of data. In the right panel, the cumulative distribution shows the preferential accumulation of observations at the extremes.