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Updated: Jul 10, 2026

Bringing the Visible Universe into Focus with Robo-AO
Published on: February 12, 2013
Asteroseismology: oscillations on the star Procyon
François Bouchy1, André Maeder, Michel Mayor
1Laboratoire d'Astrophysique de Marseille, Traverse du Siphon, BP8, 13372 Marseille Cedex 12, France. francois.bouchy@oamp.fr
Abstract:
Stars are spheres of hot gas whose interiors transmit acoustic waves very efficiently. Geologists learn about the interior structure of Earth by monitoring how seismic waves propagate through it and, in a similar way, the interior of a star can be probed using the periodic motions on the surface that arise from such waves. Matthews et al. claim that the star Procyon does not have acoustic surface oscillations of the strength predicted. However, we show here, using ground-based spectroscopy, that Procyon is oscillating, albeit with an amplitude that is only slightly greater than the noise level observed by Matthews et al. using spaced-based photometry.
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