Rigel

Rigel is a blue supergiant star in the constellation of Orion, approximately 860 light-years from Earth. It is the brightest and most massive component of a star system of at least four stars that appear as a single blue-white point of light to the naked eye. Rigel varies slightly in brightness, its apparent magnitude ranging from 0. 05 to 0. 18. The designation of Rigel asβ Orionis was made by Johann Bayer in 1603.

About Rigel in brief

Rigel, designated β Orionis, is a blue supergiant star in the constellation of Orion, approximately 860 light-years from Earth. It is the brightest and most massive component of a star system of at least four stars that appear as a single blue-white point of light to the naked eye. Rigel varies slightly in brightness, its apparent magnitude ranging from 0. 05 to 0. 18. The designation of Rigel asβ Orionis was made by Johann Bayer in 1603. In 2016, the International Astronomical Union included the name \”Rigel\” in the IAU Catalog of Star Names. The system is listed variously as H II 33, Σ 668, β 555, or ADS 3823. For simplicity, Rigel’s companions are referred to as Rigel B, C, and D; the I AU describes such names as \”useful nicknames\” that are \”unofficial\”. In modern comprehensive catalogs, the whole multiple star system is known as WDS 05145-0812 or CCDM 05145–0812. It has many other stellar designations, including 19 Orionis, the Bright Star Catalogue number HD1713, and the Henry Draper Catalogue entry number HD34085. It appears slightly fainter than Capella Orionis, which may also vary slightly in its brightness. It also has a color index of B-V −0.0, although occasionally it appears slightly blue- white and has a brightness index of 0.

06-0.06. It was designated by Bayer during a rare period when it was outshone by the variable star Betelgeuse, resulting in the latter star being designated \”alpha\” and Rigel designated \”beta\”. Rigel is generally the seventh-brightest star and the brightest star in Orion, though it is occasionally outhone by Betel Geuseuse, which varies over a larger range. In historical astronomical catalogs the system was listed variousley as H 33, 668 , AD 555 or ADS 3823, but in modern catalogs it is listed as W DS 05145 0812 CCDM 05145 812. The inner stars of the triple system orbit each other every 10 days, and the outer star orbits the inner pair every 63 years. A muchfainter star, separated from Rigel and the others by nearly an arc minute, may be part of the same star system. The three stars are all blue-White main sequence stars, each three to four times as massive as the Sun, and they orbit a common center of gravity with a period estimated to be 24,000 years. The outer star, which has an apparent magnitude of 6. 7, makes it 1400th as bright as Rigle. Rigle is an intrinsic variable star with an apparent brightness ranging from 0. 05-0 18.