NASA's Kepler mission, which is due for launch in March 2009, will fly a photometer (with a 0.95-m aperture) that will stare at a single field continuously for at least 3.5 years. The principal aim of the mission is to detect transiting Earth-like exoplanets. However, it will also make asteroseismic observations on a wide variety of stars. These asteroseismic data will provide fresh insights for testing stellar evolution theory, the physics of stellar interiors, and stellar cycle variability.

Birmingham has a prominent role in the asteroseismology programme, and in this talk I will discuss the exciting potential of Kepler for asteroseismology, and the synergies that exist with the exoplanet programme.

<< Back to Seminars & Discussions page