This technique is known as asteroseismology and ESA’s Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) has been taking similar observations of the Sun for years.

Credits: CNES

COROT uses its telescope to monitor closely the changes in a star’s brightness that comes from a planet crossing in front of it.

When looking at stars, COROT is able to detect ‘starquakes’, acoustical waves generated deep inside a star that send ripples across a star’s surface, altering its brightness. The exact nature of the ripples can allow astronomers to calculate the star's mass, age and even chemical composition.

Credits: CNES - D. Ducros