Source:The Australian

FRENCH astronomers have measured vibrations from distant stars for the first time, a technical feat that could also help answer questions about naturally-caused climate change on earth.

Using an orbital telescope called CoRoT, launched in December 2006, the researchers analysed oscillations from three stars that result from nuclear fusion which shakes the stellar interior.

The stars are between 1.2 and 1.4 times bigger than the sun, and located between 100 and 200 light years from earth.

All three are much hotter than the sun and their vibrations are around 50 per cent higher, but still far less than had been predicted.

According to computer models, the oscillations should be around 25 per cent higher than the Sun's, given these stars' greater mass.

Stellar vibrations, discovered in the late 1970s, are a foundation of "solar seismology," or the science of measuring the movement and transport of heat in and around the sun.

Understanding how this mechanism works can shed light on variations in solar radiation that, even if slight, can have major impacts on Earth's climate, inflicting periods of icing or warming.

Looking at stars other than the sun provides a different perspective about how oscillations occur and their effect on the stellar surface, said Annie Baglin, in charge of science in the CoRoT mission.

"The sun is a simple star, it is old and lost its memory. You don't learn very much by looking at it," Baglin said.

The study is published in the US weekly journal Science.