Blue-white supergiant · Orion

Rigel

Also known as: β Orionis (β Ori), HIP 24436

mag 0.2860 light-years

About

Rigel (β Orionis) is a blue-white supergiant of magnitude 0.2 in Orion, about 860 light-years away.

Rigel is in the constellation Orion.
Best evenings: around late January it is highest at about 9 pm (10 pm in summer time); a month earlier, two hours later.
Where on Earth: it is seen well, at least 10° up, from south of 72° N.
Star patterns: Winter Hexagon.

When it rises and sets tonight, how high it climbs and how much the Moon gets in the way are worked out in your browser for your place.

EyesA first-magnitude star, obvious even from a city.
Binoculars (10×50)Dazzling, with its colour stronger than to the eye.
Telescope (6–8 inch)Still a point of light at any magnification — stars are too far away to show a disc. Low in the sky, bright stars twinkle and flash colours.

Stars look the same in any instrument: brighter and sharper, but never bigger.

Proper name	Rigel
Designation	β Orionis (β Ori)
Hipparcos number	HIP 24436
Type	Blue-white supergiant
Spectral type	B8Ia
Colour	WhiteB−V colour index −0.03
Magnitude	0.2The smaller the number, the brighter.
Distance	860 light-yearsThe light you see left it around 1160.
Proper motion	0.002″ per year across the sky
Constellation	Orion
Right ascension (J2000)	05h 14m 32.3s
Declination (J2000)	−08° 12′ 06″