Stars · Blue supergiant

Rigel

860 light-years · Light crosses it in 6.1 minutes

Across
109.8 million km
Vs Earth
79× Sun
Mass
21 Suns

Open Rigel in Cosmic Scale

About

Rigel is a blue supergiant marking Orion's foot, and one of the most luminous stars visible to the naked eye. It burns through its fuel at a furious rate and will end as a supernova.

About 120,000 times as luminous as the Sun.

At a glance

Distance860 light-years
Surface12,100 K
Brightness120,000 Suns
Mass21 Suns

Did you know

  1. It lights up a nearby cloud of dust known as the Witch Head Nebula.
  2. It is only about 8 million years old — the Sun was still forming its planets at that age.
  3. It pulsates slightly, changing brightness over days to weeks.