Sound waves running through a star can help astronomers to reveal its inner
properties.
Alpha Centauri A is the nearest star visible to the naked eye, at a
distance of a little more than four light-years. New observations show that its
pulsation follows a 7 min cycle, very similar to that observed in the Sun.
Astroseismology for sun-like stars is becoming an increasingly important probe of
stellar theory. The observations were carried out by astronomers from Geneva
Observatory using the CORALIE spectrometer on the Swiss 1.2 m Leonard Euler
telescope at the European Southern Observatory’s La Silla site.
