The following table illuminates the similarities and differences; The left column provides categories for comparison, making it easier to see the specific aspects in which helioseismology and asteroseismology differ.
| Categories | Helioseismology | Asteroseismology |
|---|---|---|
| Target of study | Studies oscillations and waves specifically in the Sun | Studies oscillations in other stars more generally |
| Techniques | Uses techniques to probe the solar interior | Applies techniques similar to helioseismology to distant stars |
| Observational challenges | The Sun’s surface can be spatially resolved in great detail, allowing observation of millions of distinct solar oscillation modes | Distant stars cannot be spatially resolved, restricting observations to only low degree oscillation modes; fewer modes can be detected compared to the Sun |
| Oscillation driving mechanisms | Solar oscillations are primarily excited by turbulent convection near the solar surface | Stellar oscillations can be excited by various mechanisms like the kappa mechanism, convective blocking, tidal forces, etc. depending on the type of star |
| Applications | Used to study the Sun’s internal structure, dynamics, rotation profile, magnetic fields, and solar activity cycle | Used to determine fundamental properties of stars like their mass, radius, age as well as internal structure and rotation; also applied to study exoplanet host stars |
| Field maturity | A more mature field that has produced detailed maps of the solar interior | A rapidly developing field, especially with new space-based observations from missions like Kepler and CoRoT |
Despite their differences in terms of target, observational challenges, and driving mechanisms, both fields use the analysis of stellar oscillations to probe the interior structures of stars and have led to significant advances in our understanding of stellar physics.
