Betelgeuse (Alpha Orionis)
A colossal, pulsating red supergiant star located in the Western Spiral Arm. The flamboyant ancestral cradle of Ford Prefect, Zaphod Beeblebrox, and the Pan Galactic Gargle Blaster.
Stellar Dossier: Betelgeuse (Alpha Orionis)
"Ford Prefect had arrived on Earth fifteen Earth years ago... he was not from Guildford as he usually claimed, but from a small planet somewhere in the vicinity of Betelgeuse."
— The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Chapter 1
Betelgeuse (designated in imperial stellar catalogues as Alpha Orionis or Imperial Sub-Prefecture Betel-7) is an enormous, violently pulsating M-type red supergiant dominating the local stellar neighborhood of the Western Spiral Arm.
With a physical radius roughly eight hundred times greater than that of Sol, Betelgeuse is so immense that starships navigating into the system typically register its blistering thermal envelope while still light-hours out in hyper-space.
Stellar Architecture & Imminent Supernova
- Luminosity & Output: Burning with the ferocious radiance of more than one hundred thousand standard suns, Betelgeuse bathes its orbital planes in vivid ruby light, massive solar flaring, and convective magnetic storms.
- The Supernova Sweepstakes: Imperial astrophysicists have calculated that Betelgeuse will detonate in a cataclysmic core-collapse supernova at any moment between next Tuesday and the next million years. Tourism operators on Betelgeuse Seven promote this impending apocalypse as a supreme selling point for short-term luxury penthouse leases.
- Massive Mass Loss: The star steadily expels gargantuan plumes of silicate gas and dust into interstellar space, creating iridescent nebular curtains that routinely dazzle traveling hitchhikers and foul cheap fuel filters.
Notable System Worlds
Betelgeuse Five
The chaotic political, commercial, and media center of the system:
- Sociological Character: Loud, theatrical, stylish, and thoroughly indifferent to central galactic regulations. Famous for producing charismatic politicians who often sport two heads, three arms, and an unquenchable penchant for borrowing starships without permission.
- Refuge After the Hrung Disaster: After surviving the Great Collapsing Hrung Disaster of Gal./Sid./Year 03758 on Betelgeuse Seven, Ford Prefect's father magnanimously waved aside the clouds of suspicion that settled around him and moved to Betelgeuse Five, where he both fathered and uncled Ford and eventually died of shame when Ford failed to learn how to pronounce his ancient Praxibetel name. At school on Betelgeuse Five, the other children nicknamed Ford Ix, which in the language of Betelgeuse Five translates as "boy who is not able satisfactorily to explain what a Hrung is, nor why it should choose to collapse on Betelgeuse Seven."
- Prominent Natives: Homeworld of Galactic President Zaphod Beeblebrox and upbringing world of Ford Prefect.
Betelgeuse Seven
The ancestral world of the old Praxibetel communities:
- The Great Collapsing Hrung Disaster (Gal./Sid./Year 03758): In Gal./Sid./Year 03758, the Great Collapsing Hrung Disaster wiped out all the old Praxibetel communities on Betelgeuse Seven and rendered their obscure dialect virtually extinct. The entire episode remains shrouded in deep mystery—no one ever knew what a Hrung was, nor why it had chosen to collapse on Betelgeuse Seven particularly—and only one man on the entire planet (Ford Prefect's father) survived, by an extraordinary coincidence he was never able satisfactorily to explain.
Astrogation & Hitchhiking Advisory
- Infrared Deflectors: When entering normal space inside the Betelgeuse system, ensure thermal radiation baffles are set to maximum dampening to avoid turning your cabin interior into an impromptu fondue pot.
- Local Hospitality: Betelgeusians are notoriously generous hosts; however, never challenge a local to an arm-wrestling contest unless you have verified in advance how many arms they intend to use.
- Sub-Etha Density: The shipping corridors linking Betelgeuse Five and Seven are exceptionally busy. An itinerant traveler with an operational Electronic Thumb will rarely wait longer than twelve minutes for an interstellar lift.
Barnard's Star
A low-mass red dwarf star located six light-years from Sol in the Western Spiral Arm. Site of the nearest interstellar sub-etha transit roundabout to Earth.
Orion Beta (Rigel)
A blistering, luminous blue-white supergiant star in the Western Spiral Arm, flanked by dense asteroid belts rich in rare crystalline mandranite.