merry star dust (her voice breaks at 3:01)

I spend a lot of time in my room.

I lay on the floor and listen to the Rolling Stones and watch the

sun rise and set

and rise and set

and rise and

the sun is also a star. Stars are made of gas and dust. They get bigger and bigger and bigger and then they explode.

The most massive stars go through their lives very quickly and end by exploding.

That’s a quote from my astronomy book (Astronomy by Andrew Franknoi, copyright Rice University 2018). Sometimes I think I’d like to be a star. Sometimes I think I’d like to paint it black—a black hole is the opposite of a star. Black holes suck in everything around them and don’t let go. I am not a black hole. Therefore, I am a star? I am listening to the Rolling Stones. I am studying for my astronomy quiz. I am exploding.

In outer space, the only light comes from stellar bodies—stars.

That is not a quote from my astronomy book. That is a quote from me. I will write my own astronomy book (Astronomy by me, copyright today). Here is what it will say:

Did you know that on Mars, sunsets are blue?

Did you know that before the Big Bang there had to have been a point of existence that took up absolutely zero space and yet contained all of the mass in the universe?

Did you know that the Rolling Stones called Merry

Clayton in the middle of the night to record the backing vocals for “Gimme Shelter?”

Did you know that we’re all made of dust?

Are these things true?

Did you know that Merry Clayton had a miscarriage when she got home?

Yes.

Chapter Review:

1. If Star A has a temperature of 4000 degrees and Star B has a temperature of 8000 degrees, how many times brighter is Star B, according to the Stefan-Boltzmann equation?

2. Do you think stars get lonely?

3. Do you think Merry Clayton gets lonely?

I like “Gimme Shelter.” It’s a good song. It’s very emotive. Merry Clayton has the best part. I’m glad Merry Clayton sang that song. Maybe if she hadn’t, she wouldn’t have had a miscarriage. Therefore, I’m glad Merry Clayton had a miscarriage? I’m glad she sang the song.

4. Does that make me a bad person?

I don’t want to be a bad person. I don’t want to be a star, either. Stars are always exploding. I want to be a Rolling Stone. Stones don’t explode. Stones are cool. Stones are solid. Stones don’t get lonely. Stones don’t get anything. Stones don’t have feelings.

(Answer Key: 16, probably, maybe, if Merry Clayton = star then who are you?)

My doctor says I can’t be a stone. My doctor says get off the floor. But I can’t.

I am listening to the Rolling Stones.