It is a great pleasure to introduce a new European initiative, the European Helio- and Asteroseismology Network HELAS.

Astronomers have only very few tools to probe the interior of stars – the truly “enlightening” constituents of the Universe, which are also the source of chemical elements heavier than lithium. The entire complex chemistry in our environment, including life on Earth, originates from the stellar evolution in our Milky Way. Naturally, understanding stars means understanding our origins. Stars appear to be deceptively simple physical bodies; however, a quite complex set of mathematical equations and material properties describes what we believe the physics of their interior to be. It is impossible to look directly at the centre of a star, except with the help of the elusive neutrino, to verify our understanding of the relevant laws of physics. However, sound waves propagate through the stellar body, carrying minute signatures of its internal state with their frequencies. It is the careful analysis of the sound waves observed at the stellar surfaces – helioseismology for the case of the Sun and asteroseismology for other stars – which has become the prime technique probing the interior of stars during the past 30 years.

HELAS is a stroke of luck for helio- and asteroseismology in Europe. For the first time, a project devoted to the investigation of the solar interior and generally to the seismic probing of the structure of stars receives substantial funding from the European Commission for a period of four years. Based on this funding and the established work programme, HELAS offers a unique chance to advance helio- and asteroseismology further, and to proceed with the future steps in a well prepared manner. HELAS comes quite timely. Exciting projects and space missions are about to become operational, delivering overwhelming amounts of data on the Sun and the stars. Researchers in Europe must be in a position well prepared to process the data with high efficiency.

Many researchers in Europe will have the opportunity to exchange their knowledge and their experience within the frame offered by HELAS. They will be able to coordinate efforts and to share resources. We consider HELAS a unique opportunity for helio- and asteroseismology research groups all over Europe to achieve a leading position in the seismology of the stars.

Oskar von der Lühe - HELAS Coordinator
Markus Roth - HELAS Project Scientist