
very bright this night
like shards of broken glass
grass sparkles
trees jump out of shadows
my heart breaks into a billion diamonds
blown into the skies
summer triangle sets west
echoing a swan song
Cassiopeia combs her hair
major bear lies low
and the charioteer sings
a capella
hunter on the rise
Betelgeuse
the last part of the name "-elgeuse" comes from Arabic al-Jauza (long a) the indigenous Arabic name for the constellation Orion, a feminine name in old Arabian legend, and of uncertain meaning. j-w-z, the root of jauza (long a) means "middle"; al-Jauza (long a) roughly means "the Central One". The current Arabic name for Orion is al-Jabbar(long a) ("the Giant").
[re long a, k who put a jinx on my ctrl c/v? stoopid codes, n no alt code]
Betelgeux is a red supergiant, one of the largest and 9th most luminous star known. If Betelgeux were at the center of our solar system its surface might extend out to between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter, engulfing Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars.
[al-jabar-jeez!]

It is possible that Betelgeuse will become a supernova, which will be the brightest ever recorded, outshining the Moon in the night sky. Considering its size and age of 8.5 million years, old for its size class, it may explode within the next thousand years. Since its rotational axis is not toward the Earth and also because of its 640 light year distance, Betelgeuse's supernova will not cause a gamma ray burst in the direction of Earth large enough to damage its ecosystems. The mass of Betelgeuse puts it in range to become a neutron star or possibly a black hole.
[hmmm, wonder if Wiki ever heard of the Mayan calender, Dec. 21, 2012?]
howdaya pronounce it?
Bé-tell-gawz (due to it's origins from an Arabic phrase)
beet-l-jooz
bet-l-jœz
BET-l-jooz
BET-l-jz
BET-l-jeuz
"Beetlejuice"
just don't say it thrice