Rigel
Star
Rigel — the brilliant blue-white supergiant at Orion's foot, ~860 light-years away and the brightest star in the constellation: over a hundred thousand times the Sun's luminosity, a beacon of the Orion Arm.
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Key facts
Mass
4.18 × 10³¹ kg
21 M☉
Radius
0.367 AU
78.9× wider than the Sun
Surface temperature
12,100 K (11827 °C)
Luminosity
4.59 × 10³¹ W
Spectral type
B8 Ia (blue supergiant)
Science
Physical
- Mass
- 4.18 × 10³¹ kg · 21 M☉
- Radius
- 0.367 AU · 78.9× wider than the Sun
- Density
- 0.0603 kg/m³ · 6e-05× water
- Spectral type
- B8 Ia (blue supergiant)
Composition
- By mass
- A hot, extraordinarily luminous blue supergiant — over a hundred thousand times the Sun's output (~120,000 L☉; Moravveji et al. 2012) — fusing heavier elements toward the end of a short, brilliant life. The brightest star in Orion and one of the most luminous in this part of the Galaxy.
Temperature
- Surface
- 12,100 K (11827 °C)
Radiation & temperature
- Surface temperature
- 12,100 K (11827 °C)
- Peak wavelength
- 239 nm · ultraviolet (invisible to the eye)
Discovery & history
- Method
- Naked-eye star
- Name
- From Arabic 'rijl', the foot (of Orion); Beta Orionis, though the brightest star.
Known since antiquity as Orion's bright foot; now understood as a hot B-type supergiant with faint companions, fusing heavy elements toward its end.
Images
Images from open archives · credit shown per image