Other
Scientific paper
Jan 2001
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2001esasp.464..385m&link_type=abstract
In: Proceedings of the SOHO 10/GONG 2000 Workshop: Helio- and asteroseismology at the dawn of the millennium, 2-6 October 2000,
Other
6
Asteroseismology, Ccd Photometry, Space Telescopes
Scientific paper
Size doesn't always matter. In the case of stellar seismology (using the high-overtone pulsations of stars to probe their global structures and ages), we can use tiny oscillations (a few micromagnitudes in amplitude) to address big questions (maybe even the age of the Universe?). For bright stars, one can reach the photon-noise limit even with a small telescope. But to avoid being swamped by atmospheric scintillation noise and confused by 1 cycle/day aliases inherent to single-site groundbased observing, that telescope must be in space. Fortunately, the cost can still be kept low by exploiting proven optical and detector technology and recent advances in microsatellite attitude control. MOST (Microvariability & Oscillations of STars) is a Canadian microsatellite mission to launch a small optical telescope (aperture = 15 cm) into low Earth orbit, equipped with a CCD photometer designed to return unprecedented photometric precision (δL/L ~ 10-6) and eigenfrequency resolution (δν ~ 0.1 μHz) on stars other than the Sun. This should allow it to detect acoustic modes like the solar five-minute oscillations; the fine spacing in these modes is sensitive to the core composition and hence, main sequence age. Among the MOST targets are Population II metal-poor subdwarfs, so an age determination for these may set a meaningful lower limit on the age of the Universe. The MOST space telescope is scheduled for launch in 2002 - 2003. Other space missions with similar goals are the French COROT satellite (also funded and scheduled for launch in 2004) and the Danish MONS project (currently awaiting funding).
Kuschnig Rainer
Matthews Jaymie
Shkolnik Evgenya
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