Giant stars reveal inner secrets for the first time  11 April
2011  University of Sydney astrophysicists are behind a major
breakthrough in the study of stars known as red giants, finding
a way to peer deep into their cores to discover which ones are
in early infancy, which are fresh-faced teenagers, and which are
facing their dying days.   Giant star evolution Giant star
evolution  The paper's lead author, Professor Tim Bedding who is
based in the School of Physics, explains that "red giants are
evolved stars that have exhausted the supply of hydrogen in
their cores that powers nuclear fusion, and instead burn
hydrogen in a surrounding shell. Towards the end of their lives,
red giants begin burning the helium in their cores."  The Kepler
space telescope has allowed Professor Bedding and colleagues to
continuously study star light from hundreds of red giants at an
unprecedented level of precision for nearly a year, giving a
window into the stars' cores.   "Under the right conditions
these waves interact with