Scientifically Accurate Twinkle Twinkle Little Star
Twinkle Twinkle Little Star
I know exactly what you are
Opaque ball of hot dense gas
Million times our planet’s mass
Looking small because you’re far
I know exactly what you are
Atmospheric turbulence
Causes rays of light to bend
Blurry light gives views subpar
Causing twinkling little star
We see you as if in the past
Light’s not infinitely fast
Lookback time delays our view
I know exactly what you do
Fusing atoms in your core
[1]Hydrogen, helium, carbon and more
With such power you shine far
Twinkle twinkle little star
Classed by their spectroscopy
Types named O, B, A, F, G…
Bright when close and faint when far
I know exactly what you are
Smallest ones burn cool and slow
Still too hot to visit, though
Red stars dominate by far
Twinkle twinkle little star
Largest ones are hot and blue
Supernova when they’re through
Then black hole or neutron star
I know exactly what you are
Gravity holds on too tight
Nothing gets out, mass or light
Black holes are the most bizarre
Remnants of a twinkling star
Neutron stars spin really fast
When their beams of light sweep past
Then we call you a pulsar[2]
I know exactly what you are
Our Sun’s average as stars go
Formed 5 billion years ago
Halfway through its life so far
Twinkle mid-size yellow star
Sunspots look dark but they’re bright
Slightly cooler so less light
Temporary surface scar
I know exactly what you are
Swelling up before it’s dead
Cooling off and growing red
Then its end is not so far
Twinkle big red giant star
Outer layers float away
Planetary nebulae
Wispy gas is gossamer
I know exactly what you were
White dwarf is the core you get
matter is degenerate[3]
When small stars say au revoir
Twinkle very little star
Interstellar medium
Recycled ad nauseam
Gas and dust are spread afar
I know exactly what you are
Forming from collapsing clouds
Cold and dusty gas enshrouds
Spinning, heating protostar
Twinkle twinkle little star
Often forming multiply[4]
Clusters bound by gravity
Open type or globular[5]
I know exactly how you purr
Two stars make a binary
Or a triple if there’s three
Some are solo just like ours
Twinkle twinkle little stars
Two hundred billion stars all stay
Bound up in the Milky Way
Dusty spiral with a bar
I know exactly what you are
Stars have planets orbiting
Rocky or gassy, moons or rings
Earth’s unique with life so far
Twinkle twinkle little star
https://sites.psu.edu/astrowright/2015/06/12/scientifically-accurate-twinkle-twinkle-little-star/
