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Science 20 June 2003:
Vol. 300. no. 5627, pp. 1885 - 1886
DOI: 10.1126/science.1086421
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Perspectives

ASTRONOMY:
Taking the Pulse of a Massive Star

Steven D. Kawaler

Astronomers have long used the internal vibrations of low-mass stars (including the Sun) to probe their internal structure. Application of this technique--called asteroseismology--to more massive stars requires very long periods of observation. Based on 21 years of data, Aerts et al. have now probed the pulsations of a star nearly 10 times as massive as the Sun, extending asteroseismic probes to the realm of massive stars. In his Perspective, Kawaler explains that knowledge of the internal structure of such stars should advance understanding of the chemical evolution of galaxies and the explosion of supernovae.

The author is in the Department of Physics and Astronomy, Iowa State University, Ames, IA 50011, USA. E-mail: sdk{at}iastate.edu

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Science. ISSN 0036-8075 (print), 1095-9203 (online)