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Credit & Copyright: Rheinhold Wittich
Explanation:
Brilliant, blue, supergiant star Rigel
marks the foot of Orion the Hunter in
planet
Earth's night.
Designated Beta Orionis,
it's at the center of this remarkably
deep and wide field of view.
Rigel's blue color indicates that it is much hotter than its
rival supergiant in Orion the yellowish
Betelgeuse (Alpha Orionis),
though both stars are massive enough to eventually
end their
days
as
core collapse supernovae.
Some 860 light-years away, Rigel is hotter than the Sun too
and extends to about 74 times the solar radius.
That's about the size of the orbit of Mercury.
In the 10 degree wide frame toward the nebula rich
constellation, the Orion Nebula is at the upper left.
To the right of Rigel and illuminated by its brilliant blue starlight
lies the dusty Witch Head Nebula.
Rigel
is part
of a multiple star system, though its companion stars
are much fainter.
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NASA Official: Jay Norris. Specific rights apply.
A service of: LHEA at NASA / GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.
Based on Astronomy Picture
Of the Day
Publications with keywords: Rigel
Publications with words: Rigel
See also: