Rigel facts for kids
Rigel is a hot supergiant star in the Milky Way Galaxy. It is classified as a blue supergiant. It is located in the constellation Orion. Many scientists believe that Rigel was the youngest star even if it is the same size with the biggest star, Betelgeuse. Rigel is much bigger than our star here in the solar system, the Sun. Rigel lies 778 light-years from Earth in Orion. It is visible from Earth as a small, bluish circle on clear nights from both hemispheres.
Fate
The color of this star is bluish-white, hotter than a star with a yellow color, meaning it will use more energy quickly. The Sun runs off the same gases as Rigel; hydrogen and helium that makes it shine. When Rigel loses its fuel inside the very hot core, it will blow up into the red supergiant stage of its life and explode in a supernova. A black hole or a pulsar could be left.
Images for kids
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Rigel A and Rigel B as they appear in a small telescope
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Rigel and reflection nebula IC 2118 in Eridanus. Rigel B is not visible in the glare of the main star.
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Rigel's place at top-center on the Hertzsprung–Russell diagram
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Orion illustrated in a copy of Abd al-Rahman al-Sufi's Book of Fixed Stars. The foot on the left is annotated rijl al-jauza al-yusra, the Arabic name from which Rigel is derived.
See also
In Spanish: Rigel para niños
