  Stellar surface processes represent a fundamental limit to the detection of
extrasolar planets with the currently most heavily-used techniques. As such,
considerable effort has gone into trying to mitigate the impact of these
processes on planet detection, with most studies focusing on magnetic spots.
Meanwhile, high-precision photometric planet surveys like CoRoT and Kepler have
unveiled a wide variety of stellar variability at previously inaccessible
levels. We demonstrate that these newly revealed variations are not solely
magnetically driven but also trace surface convection through light curve
"flicker." We show that "flicker" not only yields a simple measurement of
surface gravity with a precision of ~0.1 dex, but it may also improve our
knowledge of planet properties, enhance radial velocity planet detection and
discovery, and provide new insights into stellar evolution.

Solar and Stellar Astrophysics