Endless Facts, One Snippet at a Time
Rigel: The Blue Supergiant of Orion
- Rigel is the brightest star in the constellation Orion, marking the hunter’s left foot.
- It is a blue supergiant, burning at a blistering surface temperature of around 12,000 K.
- Rigel shines about 120,000 times brighter than our Sun.
- Located roughly 860 light-years away, its light takes centuries to reach Earth.
- Though it looks like a single star, Rigel is actually a multiple-star system.
- Rigel’s intense radiation means it will live fast and die young, ending in a spectacular supernova.
- Ancient cultures saw Rigel as a guiding star for navigation across seas and deserts.
- Its bluish-white glow contrasts sharply with the red hue of Betelgeuse in Orion’s shoulder.
- Rigel’s massive size—about 79 times the Sun’s radius—makes it one of the largest stars visible to the naked eye.
- When it explodes, Rigel may briefly become one of the brightest objects in Earth’s sky.