Numerous planets have been discovered by space missions such as Kepler and CoRoT. These satellites monitor the brightness of stars and search for periodic dips in their brightness as the planets pass in front of the stars and block a portion of the light. The detailed information on stellar variability from these exquisite movies has revealed regular changes in brightness in cool stars, including both sun-like stars and their bloated red giant descendants. These oscillations, and their numerous overtones, are the surface manifestation of sound and water waves trapped inside the stars. Their frequencies provide a window into the otherwise hidden properties of their deep interiors, and the consequences for our understanding of stars and the formation of our galaxy are profound. In this talk I will describe how we measure solar and stellar oscillations, what we have already learned about stellar physics from them, and how this new tool will transform our knowledge of the galaxy.

Archaeology and Astronomy may seem an unlikely pairing. Archaeologists search for individual artifacts of past civilizations to understand these cultures, and ultimately the evolution of human society. In the same way, so too are astronomers searching the stars to understand the structure of galaxies, and ultimately, the evolution of these vast stellar metropolises. In this talk, Alan McConnachie will tell the story of how astronomers have, by examining millions of individual stars, come to a better understanding of what constitutes a galaxy, in particular our own galactic home, the Milky Way. He will describe how our own corner of the Universe compares to all the rest, and will suggest how we go from here to develop a unified understanding of how galaxies - with all their light, beauty and complexity - were borne out of a vast and, apparently, dark Universe.