Breaking the bright limit: K2 photometry of the brightest stars in the ecliptic
Tim White (Stellar Astrophysics Centre, Aarhus University), Daniel Huber (University of Sydney), Victor Silva Aguirre (Aarhus University), Conny Aerts (KU Leuven), Tim Bedding (University of Sydney), et al.

The K2 Mission is providing golden opportunities to study scientifically interesting targets in the ecliptic. Many of the most exciting targets are also the brightest, but the cost in pixels, coupled with the limited download bandwidth, means these targets would go unobserved. To overcome this we have developed methods to perform photometry in the wings of the PSF of bright stars, allowing them to be observed inexpensively. I will present results from applying these methods to the brightest stars in the ecliptic, including members of the Pleiades and Hyades, allowing us to obtain high-precision, uninterrupted photometry of these well-studied stars, which has not been possible from the ground. Combining asteroseismology with observations from complementary methods, including spectroscopy and interferometry, will provide strong observational constraints for testing stellar models and set these stars as benchmarks for large stellar surveys.