Rigel at closer distances
Rigel is a blue supergiant in Orion, far larger and far more luminous than Sirius, and far more distant. Comparing the two at the same distance separates the two things that make a star look bright from Earth: how big it is, and how near it is.
- 109,000,000 km
- 1,200 hours
- star
How big does Rigel actually look from Earth?
At 860 ly, Rigel spans 0.00 arcseconds across your sky — a small fraction of the width of the full Moon. Light crosses that gap in 860 years.
At its true distance Rigel is among the most luminous stars an unaided eye can see.
How big would Rigel look from one light year away?
At 1 ly, Rigel spans 2.38 arcseconds across your sky — a small fraction of the width of the full Moon. Light crosses that gap in 1 year.
Closer than any real star, and beginning to show width.
How big would Rigel look from a tenth of a light year?
At 0.1 ly, Rigel spans 0.01° across your sky — a small fraction of the width of the full Moon. Light crosses that gap in 36.5 days.
The disc is now measurable rather than implied.
How big would Rigel look from a hundredth of a light year?
At 0.01 ly, Rigel spans 0.07° across your sky — about 0.13 times the width of the full Moon. Light crosses that gap in 3.7 days.
Roughly an Oort-cloud pass.
What would Rigel look like inside the Solar System?
At 10 AU, Rigel spans 4.2° across your sky — about 8.1 times the width of the full Moon. Light crosses that gap in 83.2 minutes.
The scene renders the light and the size. Nothing about the physical consequences is modelled.
At this distance, Earth would not survive. Enjoy the view.
What Perigee calculates and what it renders
The apparent size is calculated, but the light, colour and environmental treatment are an authored visualization. Perigee does not model heat, radiation, gravity or tides.
How Perigee calculates apparent size