Similar to how seismology is used to learn about the insides of the Earth, astroseismology can be used in order to gain an understanding of the

The solar surface. The image shows a few sunspots, and large ‘quiet sun’ areas. Although it may look like not a lot is happening, the solar surface is constantly oscillating which allows us to “see into the Sun”. Credit: NASA/SDO.

interior of the Sun and stars work through studying the movements on their surfaces caused by internal oscillations. The surface movements are an important key in order to unlock the mysteries of the structure and rotation of stars’, as well as the history of the Milky Way. 

The movements of the inside of the Sun can indirectly be observed by studying oscillations on the surface. Using continuous observations of the surface oscillations of the Sun, Douglas Gough and Jørgen Christensen-Dalsgaard could determine the temperature in the solar interior and how the plasma behaves inside the Sun and how energy is transported from the solar core out to its surface. 

Conny Aerts used similar methods in order to gain further insight of how distans stars work. This is not an easy task as we cannot observe stars that are far away at the same resolution as the Sun, since they only appear as tiny dots on the night sky. Conny Aerts developed a method to observe the oscillation of faraway stars using new space telescopes. By studying the changes in brightness of stars, the sizes, ages and evolutionary phases of stars can be determined. In addition, this can be used in exoplanet research. All of this helps astronomers to better understand the stars, galaxies and galaxy formation. 

Dan Kiselman and Karin Lind are researchers at the Department of Astronomy, and they explain the importance of the work of the laureates in this video: https://youtube.com/watch?v=FOyH1ylIbGI

Stars in the globular cluster 47 Tucanae, located around 15 000 light years away from the Earth. Astroseismology is a key component in understanding the evolution and properties of faraway stars. Credit: ESO/M.-R. Cioni/VISTA Magellanic Cloud survey.