Tuesday, April 12, 2011

APOD 4.2

http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap110408.html

I was quite excited when I saw the link to a science fiction book about the journey to the center of a red star, which I would most definitely read, then sad to see it was only about Earth(classic still, but how cool would the other one be?). Asteroseismology, besides having the best name, is the study of planetary oscillations/starquakes.  The study works similar to the way seismology works on Earth, which is that quakes are used as a peak into what's actually beneath. Stellar masses and radii can be determined to a high degree of precision using this method. The Kepler spacecraft is used to take measurements; this is the same spacecraft that has located 1,235 candidate planets orbiting other suns. The oscillations are measured like sound waves (compressions) and they can indicate hydrogen and helium fusion taking place.

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