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Rigel
Beta (β) Orionis
Blue Star
| Right Ascension | 5h 14m 32s | Best Seen | 1/1 - 3/15 |
| Declination | -8° 12' 06" | Magnitude | 0.18 |
| Constellation | Orion | ||
Actual |
Compared to Sun |
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| Distance | 773 ly | -- |
| Actual Brightness | -- | 37,400 |
| Surface Temperature | ~19,400 ºF | ~1.9 |
| Diameter (average) | ~46 million miles | ~54 |
| Mass | -- | ~20 |
| Surface Gravity | -- | -- |
| Surface Composition (by mass) | 74% hydrogen 24% helium 2% everything else |
same |
| Spectral Type | B8 lab | G2 V |
| Density (gram/cubic cm) | -- | -- |
What To Look For Through The Telescope
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Recommended eyepiece: 24mm or 40 mm.
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When people look through the telescope a bright bluish point of light should be seen.
Rigel Information:
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Rigel is the brightest star in the constellation Orion, and the 5th brightest star in the Northern Hemisphere’s night sky (7th brightest in the night sky when including the Southern Hemisphere’s bright stars).
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It must be a very young star since at its present rate of fuel consumption, it cannot last for more than a few million years.
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Rigel is apparently a multiple star system.
a. Rigel’s companion is spectral type B9
b. This companion is magnitude 7, and can be resolved in medium sized telescopes.
c. This companion is a spectroscopic binary.
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References
| Item | Updated | Notes |
| Coordinates | 2002-07-17 | SIMBAD |
| Magnitude | 2002-07-17 | with Scott’s The Flamsteed Collection |
| Distance | 2002-07-17 | SIMBAD, Hipparcos |
| Actual Brightness | 2002-07-17 | with Scott’s The Flamsteed Collection |
| Surface Temperature | 2002-07-17 | B8 close to 10,000 K; assume 11,000K |
| Diameter | 2002-07-17 | assume 11,000K |
| Mass | 2002-11-20 | from http://www.astro.uiuc.edu/~kaler/sow/rigel.html and http://www.gb.nrao.edu/~rmaddale/Education/OrionTourCenter/rigel.html and http://www.badastronomy.com/bitesize/lowmass.html |
| Surface Gravity | -- | |
| Surface Composition | 2003-01-06 | OK for all stars |
| Spectral Type | 2002-07-17 | previously B8 Ia, SIMBAD |
| Other Information | 2002-07-22 | 1. previous density: 0.0004 – BUT how know that? 2. previously: “3a. Rigel has a companion: Magnitude: 6.7 Separation: more than 250 billion miles (2,600 times Earth-Sun distance) 3b. The companion is also a binary star with a period of 9.86 days and a combined luminosity of 150 times that of the sun.” – BUT all I can find is what’s now in the text. Some of the info is from http://www.seds.org/Maps/Stars_en/Fig/orion.html 3. with Hipparcos, these brightness “ranks” b |
| Composition | 2013-07-30 | Changed to 74% / 24% / 2% |