Rigel A & B
Taken with Celestron NexStar 6 SE Telescope and ZWO asci224mc Camera, sometime in the winter of 2017/18 (I'll find the date). Video stacked in Autostakkert 2 and processed in PS CC.
Rigel (β Orionis) appears as a bright blue white star found in the constellation of Orion. It shows some variability but is the currently the 7th brightest star in the night sky. It is believed to be 860 ± 80 light years away from Earth.
Rigel is believed to be a 3 star system, consisting of a massive blue supergiant Rigel A and two distant and much dimmer companions.
Much of Rigel's energy is emitted as ultraviolet radiation, but the visible component is around 40,000 times brighter than the Sun.
High mass stars such as Rigel exhaust their fuel at a far quicker rate than smaller stars, and so exist for only a few million years. Rigel is only around 8 million years old and has already exhausted the supply of hydrogen in its core.
Over the next few million years Rigel will expand to an even greater size as it becomes a red supergiant and is likely to explode as a supernova. If this does occur, it will become the brightest object in the night sky apart from the moon.
Rigel A & B
Taken with Celestron NexStar 6 SE Telescope and ZWO asci224mc Camera, sometime in the winter of 2017/18 (I'll find the date). Video stacked in Autostakkert 2 and processed in PS CC.
Rigel (β Orionis) appears as a bright blue white star found in the constellation of Orion. It shows some variability but is the currently the 7th brightest star in the night sky. It is believed to be 860 ± 80 light years away from Earth.
Rigel is believed to be a 3 star system, consisting of a massive blue supergiant Rigel A and two distant and much dimmer companions.
Much of Rigel's energy is emitted as ultraviolet radiation, but the visible component is around 40,000 times brighter than the Sun.
High mass stars such as Rigel exhaust their fuel at a far quicker rate than smaller stars, and so exist for only a few million years. Rigel is only around 8 million years old and has already exhausted the supply of hydrogen in its core.
Over the next few million years Rigel will expand to an even greater size as it becomes a red supergiant and is likely to explode as a supernova. If this does occur, it will become the brightest object in the night sky apart from the moon.