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Astrophysics

The inner lives of red giants

Nature volume 471, pages 580–581 (2011)Cite this article

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The natural pulse of a red-giant star provides crucial insight into what makes it shine. Observations of red giants by the Kepler space telescope shed light on a previously untested prediction of stellar evolution theory. See Letter p.608

Just as in Hollywood, the age of a star is not always obvious if you look only at the surface. During certain phases in a star's life, its size and brightness are remarkably constant, even while profound transformations are taking place deep inside. For most of their existence, stars shine from the energy released by nuclear reactions that convert hydrogen into helium, but eventually they begin to burn the helium in their cores to synthesize heavier elements, such as carbon and oxygen. On page 608 of this issue, Bedding et al.1 demonstrate a new technique for distinguishing between these life stages, using continuous 'starquakes' to probe the deepest regions, where the changes are most dramatic.

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Figure 1: Red-giant oscillations.

References

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  1. Travis S. Metcalfe is at the High Altitude Observatory, National Center for Atmospheric Research, Boulder, Colorado 80307-3000, USA.,

    Travis S. Metcalfe

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  1. Travis S. Metcalfe
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Correspondence to Travis S. Metcalfe.

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Metcalfe, T. The inner lives of red giants. Nature 471, 580–581 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1038/471580a

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