images

Artist’s view of COROT

by

CNES/D.Ducros/Novapix

Reference

e-sou07-00005

Date

2009-02-24

This artist's view shows the COROT satellite, consisting of a 30-centimetre space telescope launched in late 2006. COROT uses its telescope to monitor closely the changes in a star’s brightness that comes from a planet crossing in front of it. While it is looking at a star, COROT is also able to detect ‘starquakes’, acoustical waves generated deep inside a star that send ripples across a star’s surface, altering its brightness. The exact nature of the ripples allows astronomers to calculate the star's precise mass, age and chemical composition.