Some Stars and Nebulae in Orion
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Orion contains a rich array of objects. Point to the image or the links to highlight the featured objects. Click for information about an object.
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| Rigel | |
| Distance | 776.58 light years |
| Apparent Magnitude | 0.15 |
| Absolute Visual Magnitude | -6.73 |
| Variability | tiny < 0.06 Mag |
| Radius | 92 solar radii |
| Companions | Binary > 10" sep |
| Temperature | 9,076 Kelvin |
| B-V colour | -0.03 |
| Luminosity | 51,194 suns |
| Rigel is a blue giant star.
It is younger and much more massive than the Sun.
Like the Sun, Rigel is burning hydrogen in its core, but at a much faster rate.
Rigel is burning much more brightly and radiating far more energy than the Sun.
Its lifetime will be much shorter than the Sun's.
Once its nuclear fuel is exhaused, Rigel's core will collapse to form a neutron star.
This will trigger a supernova explosion that will hurl enormous amounts of
outer-layer material into surrounding space.
Rigel is member of a multiple star system. Its slight variability may be caused by a companion that passes regularly across its face. | |
