Kepler Double Header

Sounding stars while hunting for planets

Kepler/K2 data is used to detect and decode subtle vibrations of the stars, a field of science called asteroseismology, similar to how vibrations in the earth's crust can be used in the science of seismology to study the properties of the earth. The decoded vibrations are used to measure stellar properties with high precision (i.e. the mass, radius, and age). Many exoplanet host stars show these oscillations so we work hand-in-hand with Kepler telescope scientists to provide accurate stellar parameters that are needed to characterize the exoplanets. But beyond that, this technique is used to study a wide variety of stars from the inside-out.

Speaker: Steve Kawaler, Univ. of Iowa

Bumpy Rides in the Early Lives of Planetary Systems
Multiple-planet systems detected by the Kepler telescope allow us to understand the similarities and surprising dissimilarities from how our Solar System, and how we think they form and evolve.

Speaker: Dan Fabrycky, Univ. of Chicago