• Key Information

  • Rigel

  • Type
    Star System (quaternary)
  • Diameter
    68,215,046 miles (A), 7,292 miles (B)
  • Distance
    863 light years
  • Temperature
    21,300 °F (A), 20,000 °F (Ba, Bb, C)
  • Star Type
    B8 Ia - Blue supergiant (A), B9V - Blue, main sequence (Ba, Bb, C)
  • Date of Discovery
    Unknown (A), 1 October 1781 (Ba & Bb), 1878 (C)
  • Learning Point
  • Rigel is one of the most visible stars in the night sky, and is famous for many stargazers. Designated a blue supergiant star, it is a complex system of stars that are relatively recent in age.
  • Project
  • Research the type of star and Rigel is.
  • Location
  • Located in
    Orion, Milky Way
  • Fun Facts
  • Rigel A is a blue supergiant star located at around 860 light-years from Earth.
  • Rigel A is between 61,500 and 353,000 times the brightness of our Sun.
  • The Rigel stars likely formed about 8 million years ago.
  • The Ba and Bb stars have been confirmed by analysing their colors (they are hard to separate from each other), and C has been confirmed as well. It has been suggested there might be a fifth star linked to this system, but as of now is not confirmed.