STAR PROFILE RIGEL
Orion’s brightest star is a powerful blue supergiant
Rigel – also known as Beta Orionis – is a rare blue supergiant and the brightest star in the constellation of Orion (the Hunter). Rigel is nearing the end of its life; having exhausted most of the hydrogen fuel in its core, the blazing-blue, hot star will one day end in a spectacular supernova, though this won’t be for another few million years. The dazzling beauty is part of a multi-star system with several companion stars.
Rigel is a variable star that lies about 870 light years away from the Sun and is about 120,000 times as luminous. Rigel’s name is popular in science fiction. It’s in the name of a number of planets in the Star Trek universe, is mentioned in The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy and is also featured in a number of other novels, computer games and comic books. The name comes from an Arabic phrase, ‘Rijl Jauzah al Yusra’, which means ‘the left leg of the Jauzah’. The phrase is sometimes translated as ‘the left leg of the giant’, referring to the constellation of Orion, which Rigel is a part of.