Ballad of the Red Giants
When we observe a star with a greatly distended bulk, we know that this star has had sufficient time since it was born to consume most of its initial supply of hydrogen. In small stars, such as the Sun, that have not yet lived long . . . there can be no great degree of swelling. Even so, it seems that there has already been a slight expansion of the Sun. —Fred Hoyle, The Nature of the Universe
Betelgeuse, Betelgeuse, what do you do,
Far in the star-black, out-back sky,
Blundering thunderous, bloated and floating,
Swollen and hopeless, older than oldness,
Rolling and roaring, red as a yawn,
Fattening, battening on all your planets
Till all your planets are gobbled and gone —
Betelgeuse, Betelgeuse, what do you do?
Far in the star-black, out-back sky,
Blundering thunderous, bloated and floating,
Swollen and hopeless, older than oldness,
Rolling and roaring, red as a yawn,
Fattening, battening on all your planets
Till all your planets are gobbled and gone —
Betelgeuse, Betelgeuse, what do you do?
I burn.
Big Ras algethi, bigger than Betelgeuse,
Big Ras algethi, red as a railroad
Lantern and gassier, bulging and belching,
Heaving through heaven, hiccuping helium,
Bigger than Betelgeuse, dying of size,
Big Ras algethi, what do you do?
Big Ras algethi, red as a railroad
Lantern and gassier, bulging and belching,
Heaving through heaven, hiccuping helium,
Bigger than Betelgeuse, dying of size,
Big Ras algethi, what do you do?
I burn.
Great E Aurigae, monstrous, impossible,
Bigger than both of them, Betelgeuse, Ras,
Dying for hydrogen, rotten with dropsy,
Bleary and bloodshot, pumped up with nothingness,
Doomed and distended, ended and spent —
Giant E Aurigae, what do you do?
Bigger than both of them, Betelgeuse, Ras,
Dying for hydrogen, rotten with dropsy,
Bleary and bloodshot, pumped up with nothingness,
Doomed and distended, ended and spent —
Giant E Aurigae, what do you do?
I burn.
Little Sol, little Sol, what do you do,
Yellow as Cheddar, bright as a child,
Steady, dependable, smiling and mild,
Rain raiser, grain raiser, seasonable,
Night sleeper, time keeper, reasonable,
Little Sol, little Sol, what do you do?
Yellow as Cheddar, bright as a child,
Steady, dependable, smiling and mild,
Rain raiser, grain raiser, seasonable,
Night sleeper, time keeper, reasonable,
Little Sol, little Sol, what do you do?
I burn.