A Key to Understanding the Sun and Stars: The Birmingham Solar-Oscillations Network (BiSON)

The Birmingham Solar-Oscillations Network (BiSON) consists of six semi- and fully-automatic observatories, dedicated to the continuous observation of the low-degree, globally coherent, p-mode oscillations of the Sun. These resonant modes are manifestations of trapped, standing sound waves that penetrate into the core of the Sun and which consequently provide a sensitive probe of its deep radiative interior. Here, we discuss briefly the nature of the oscillations, introduce BiSON, and touch upon some of the important science extracted by the network which has, among other topics, impacted upon: solar and stellar physics; stellar evolutionary theory; the solar neutrino problem; and cosmology.