Rigel , ( Beta Orionis ). It is the seventh brightest star in the entire night sky. It is located in the Constellation of Orion and has a stellar magnitude of +0.18 that makes it the brightest star in that system, superior to the alpha star, Betelgeuse . It is at an enormous distance difficult to pin down between 700 and 900 light-years from the Solar System , which together with its enormous brightness gives us an idea of the majesty of this bluish-white giant. It has a brightness 50,000 times that of the Sun and a radius 73 times greater, which would cover the orbit of Mercury .
It is a triple system, in which the main star, called Rigel A, is accompanied by two others, Rigel B and Rigel C. Although the companion star, Rigel B, has magnitude +6.7, its proximity to Rigel A —More than 500 times brighter — make it difficult to observe with less powerful telescopes . Rigel is a variable star with small fluctuations in brightness, a rare phenomenon in supergiants. The range of variability oscillates between 0.3 and 0.03 magnitudes, equivalent to a variation between 3% and 30%, with a period of 25 days. It has been proposed that the variability is due to the existence of a fourth star in the system, but it is generally considered that the true cause lies in pulsations on the surface of the main star.
Summary
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- 1 Location
- 2 Mythology
- 3 Origin of the name
- 4 Sources
Location
Rigel is very easy to locate by first locating the constellation Orion Constellation , undoubtedly the one that stands out the most in the winter night sky. Rigel is the brightest star in this beautiful constellation, representing the hunter’s left foot where it stands out for its bluish-white color.
Mythology
The constellation Orion represents the hunting giant from Greek mythology . It is one of the best known constellations in the sky and the most representative of the winter sky. The star Rigel is the brightest blue-white star in this constellation and is located on the left foot of the hunter figure.
Name’s origin
The name Rigel comes from the Arabic “Rijl jauza al-Yusra”, “the left foot of the central one”, alluding to Orion.