Image

Massive star

Alnilam , the central star of Orion's Belt lighting up NGC 1990.

Massive stars, more than 3 times the mass of the Sun, mostly convert hydrogen into helium. Rigel is the brightest star in the constellation called Orion and one of the brightest stars in the sky. It is a blue (very hot) supergiant, over 100 times bigger than the Sun.

Acknowledgement: Glen Youman

Rights: Glen Youman, CC BY-SA 3.0
Published:17 September 2009Size: 153.88 KB