Rigel
Where is Rigel?
Look south, about 30° up at 05:17 in Orion. It rises at 23:55 and climbs through the night.
- Rises
- 23:55
- Highest
- 05:16
- Sets
- 10:38
- Best after dark
- 05:17 · 30°
Can I see Rigel tonight?
From London tonight, Rigel is above the horizon after dark. It’s highest just before dawn, around 05:17, in the south at 30°.
At magnitude 0.1 it is one of the brighter points in the sky, easy to see by eye when it’s clear.
This is position and timing only: clouds, haze and light pollution aren’t included.
What does Rigel look like?
Rigel looks blue-white to the eye. Its spectral type is B8Ia: hot blue-white supergiant (much hotter than the Sun).
Eyes
A bright, blue-white star at Orion’s lower right (for northern observers).
Binoculars
A dazzling blue-white point.
Telescope
A small telescope at 100× or more can show a faint companion close beside it, about seven magnitudes fainter. Steady air helps.
About Rigel
Rigel marks Orion’s foot and is usually the brightest star in the constellation, slightly outshining Betelgeuse. It is a blue supergiant, tens of thousands of times more luminous than the Sun.
Its distance is estimated at roughly 850 light-years. Rigel is a young, massive star; it will probably end its life as a supernova in the distant future.
Its name comes from the Arabic for “the foot”. Rigel has a fainter companion star nearby, a good test for small telescopes.
Rigel is roughly 20 times the mass of the Sun and more than 100,000 times as luminous. Its light illuminates the Witch Head Nebula, a faint cloud of dust in neighboring Eridanus that shows up well in long-exposure photographs.
Although it is labeled Beta Orionis, Rigel is usually brighter than Alpha Orionis, Betelgeuse. Rigel itself varies slightly in brightness, though too little to notice by eye.
Its light takes centuries to reach us, so you see it as it was several hundred years ago.
Rigel in Orion
Questions
Is Rigel brighter than Betelgeuse?
How far away is Rigel?
Sources: SkyMate; Wikidata (CC0). Positions computed for your place and time with astronomy-engine. Data & Licences