Professor Conny Aerts presents "Starquakes and Exoplanets in the Milky Way"
Asteroseismology – the study of stellar interiors via "starquakes" – has been around for a century, but it is now entering a new and exciting phase. Seismic measurements from thousands of stars allow us to listen in on a cosmic symphony, and also to probe their physics, their life, and, by implication, the fate of the exoplanets that may surround them. The recent revolution in our knowledge of stars and of exoplanetary systems, thanks to the space missions CoRoT and Kepler, will be highlighted. Dr Aerts will end by discussing how ongoing and future seismic studies will reveal the structure of our Milky Way galaxy, find the ages of its stars, and, perhaps soon, aid in the search for analogs of our planet Earth around other stars.