What type of star is beta the star?

Answer 1

There is no star with the name of "Beta".

No, that's not true. To be more correct, there is a "beta" in every constellation. That's a total of 88 of them in the sky !

Within each constellation, the brightest star is labelled "Alpha of (the name of the constellation)", the second brightest is labelled "Beta of (the constellation's name)", the third brightest is labeled "Gamma of (the constellation)" and so on through the constellation.

Well, that's the general idea anyway. The system of assigning names to stars got a bit mixed up and for various reasons, "Beta" is not always strictly speaking the second brightest star in a constellation, but for most of them it will at least be one of the brightest stars in the constellation. Also, the "of the constellation" part is in Latin, and forming Latin genitives isn't always straightforward for English speakers (some examples: "of Cephus" -> Cephei, "of Ursa Minor" -> Ursae Minoris, "of Virgo" -> Virginis).

Answer 2

Usually, the beta star. Stars are given names based on the constellation that they are in, with the brightest star in the constellation being "Alpha", the second brightest being "Beta, and the third-brightest being "Gamma" - and so on through the rest of the Greek alphabet.

However, stars _can_ change their brightness. In the constellation Orion, the red supergiant star Betelgeuse was, in the 1600's when the stars were cataloged, the brightest star in Orion. So Betelgeuse was listed as "Alpha Orionis", while Rigel, a close second, was listed as "Beta Orionis". But Betelgeuse has been slimming down, perhaps beginning the collapse which will result in its destruction as a supernova. At any rate, Rigel is generally brighter than Betelgeuse this century. Not always; Betelgeuse is a variable star, and at its brightest, it is still brighter than Rigel.