Astronomy · Stars
Rigel
The blue supergiant at Orion's foot.
- Constellation
- Orion
- Type
- Blue supergiant
- Color
- Blue-white
- Note
- Among the most luminous stars near the Sun
NASA/JPL/Space Science Institute · NASA media (public domain)
A luminous blue supergiant
Rigel is a blue supergiant, a hot and extraordinarily luminous star. Its blue-white color signals a high surface temperature, in clear contrast to the cool, red glow of Betelgeuse across the figure of Orion.
A stellar system
What appears as a single point is a multiple-star system, with the dominant supergiant accompanied by fainter companions. The supergiant supplies almost all of the light we see.
Orion's two beacons
Rigel and Betelgeuse are the two brightest stars of Orion and a classic contrast lesson: a hot blue star and a cool red one, side by side in the same constellation, illustrating how color reveals temperature.
Knowledge connections
How this connects across Asteria Star — scientific, cultural, and astrological links are kept separate.
Scientific connections
- Belongs toOrion
- Associated withThe Winter Hexagon