Institut for Fysik og Astronomi, Aarhus Universitet, Denmark
Asteroseismology utilizes observations of stellar oscillations
to infer properties of the stars.
The simplest example of such an inference is the estimate of
the stellar mean density from a single pulsation period.
However, in several classes of stars many oscillations are
simultaneously excited, potentially providing detailed information
about the stellar interiors. The extreme example of this is the Sun,
considered in
the talk by Thompson.
I discuss some basic properties of stellar oscillations and provide an overview of the stars for which seismic information is becoming available. These cover a large part of the HR diagram, offering the hope that many aspects of stellar evolution can be investigated in this manner. I shall also provide examples of cases where detailed information has already been obtained or may be imminent.