The Sound of Stars

Although we cannot hear it with our own ears, the Sun and other stars in the sky have been performing a concert for billions of years. Similar to a boiling pot of water, gas cells on the surface of stars that are the size of the Earth rise up, cool and sink down, causing turbulence that ring stars like a bell. The frequencies of such sound waves are directly related to basic stellar properties such as size and structure, in a similar way as music instruments with different sizes have a different natural pitch. In this talk, Dr. Huber will give an overview of the latest discoveries in asteroseismology – the study of stellar oscillations – including how we use stellar sound waves to learn about the interior of stars, stellar populations in our galaxy, and the planets that orbit them.University of Hawaiʻi Institute for AstronomyAlthough we cannot hear it with our own ears, the Sun and other stars in the sky have been performing a concert for billions of years. Similar to a boiling pot of water, gas cells on the surface of stars that are the size of the Earth rise up, cool and sink down, causing turbulence that ring stars like a bell. The frequencies of such sound waves are directly related to basic stellar properties such as size and structure, in a similar way as music instruments with different sizes have a different natural pitch. In this talk, Dr. Huber will give an overview of the latest discoveries in asteroseismology – the study of stellar oscillations – including how we use stellar sound waves to learn about the interior of stars, stellar populations in our galaxy, and the planets that orbit them. W. M. Keck Observatory wishes to offer our deepest gratitude to our Astronomy Talk Series sponsors, Rob and Terry Ryan.