Rigel
Discover amazing facts about Rigel, the brilliant blue supergiant star that forms Orion's foot and outshines most stars in our galaxy
Rigel blazes brilliant blue-white and is one of the most luminous stars visible to the naked eye
Rigel is one of the most brilliant and powerful stars you can see in the night sky! This blue supergiant forms the left foot of Orion the Hunter and shines with incredible blue-white light. Even though Rigel appears as the seventh brightest star in our sky, it's actually much more luminous than most other bright stars - it just looks dimmer because it's much farther away at about 860 light-years from Earth. If Rigel were as close to us as Sirius, it would appear almost as bright as the Moon!
Rigel is a true stellar powerhouse, burning through its fuel at an incredible rate. This massive star is about 21 times more massive than our Sun and shines 120,000 times brighter! Its surface temperature reaches about 53,000°F, which is what gives it that brilliant blue-white color. Because Rigel is so massive and burns so hot, it won't live very long by stellar standards - scientists think it will explode as a spectacular supernova in just a few million years.
