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takyon [soylentnews.org] writes:

A team using data from the Kepler observatory has measured star surface gravity with more accuracy [bbc.com]:

The pull of gravity on a distant star can now be measured more accurately, shedding light on other worlds, say astronomers. The method makes it possible to study even the faintest of stars. "Our technique can tell you how big and bright is the star, and if a planet around it is the right size and temperature to have water oceans, and maybe life," said Prof Jaymie Matthews.

[...] A team led by Thomas Kallinger of the University of Vienna used data from the Kepler space telescope - which is searching for other worlds like the Earth - to show that variations in the brightness of distant stars can give more accurate measurements of surface gravity. The timescale of turbulence and vibration at a star's surface, based on its brightness variations, tells you its surface gravity, say the researchers.

Precise stellar surface gravities from the time scales of convectively driven brightness variations [sciencemag.org] (DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.1500654)

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