Betelgeuse has a luminosity that is around 100,000 times that of the Sun. It is classified as a red supergiant star and is one of the brightest stars visible to the naked eye. Despite its high luminosity, Betelgeuse is also known for its variability in brightness.
Betelgeuse, a cool distant supergiant star, has a high luminosity primarily due to its large size and surface area. Despite its relatively low temperature, its vast volume allows it to emit a significant amount of energy. The combination of its expansive radius and the Stefan-Boltzmann Law, which states that a star's luminosity increases with the fourth power of its temperature, results in Betelgeuse's impressive brightness. Thus, even with a lower temperature, its sheer size compensates, leading to high luminosity.
Betelgeuse has an apparent magnitude of 0.42(v) and an absolute magnitude of -6.02. Rigel has an apparent magnitude of 0.12 and an absolute magnitude of -7.04. So Rigel is brighter.
Proxima Centauri has an insignificant luminosity to Betelgeuse. Although it is the closest known star(4.2 light-years) to our Sun, it is virtually impossible to see because it is so dim. Betelgeuse, on the other hand, is a lot farther (640 light-years). Yet, it is one of the brightest stars in our night sky. This is because Betelgeuse has an extremely high luminosity.
Despite its distance and size, Betelgeuse has a high apparent magnitude because of its immense luminosity. It is a massive and highly luminous red supergiant star, shining brightly due to its large surface area and energy output. This makes it appear bright in our sky despite being relatively far away.
Betelgeuse has a luminosity that is around 100,000 times that of the Sun. It is classified as a red supergiant star and is one of the brightest stars visible to the naked eye. Despite its high luminosity, Betelgeuse is also known for its variability in brightness.
Betelgeuse, a cool distant supergiant star, has a high luminosity primarily due to its large size and surface area. Despite its relatively low temperature, its vast volume allows it to emit a significant amount of energy. The combination of its expansive radius and the Stefan-Boltzmann Law, which states that a star's luminosity increases with the fourth power of its temperature, results in Betelgeuse's impressive brightness. Thus, even with a lower temperature, its sheer size compensates, leading to high luminosity.
Betelgeuse has an apparent magnitude of 0.42(v) and an absolute magnitude of -6.02. Rigel has an apparent magnitude of 0.12 and an absolute magnitude of -7.04. So Rigel is brighter.
Proxima Centauri has an insignificant luminosity to Betelgeuse. Although it is the closest known star(4.2 light-years) to our Sun, it is virtually impossible to see because it is so dim. Betelgeuse, on the other hand, is a lot farther (640 light-years). Yet, it is one of the brightest stars in our night sky. This is because Betelgeuse has an extremely high luminosity.
The red giants like Betelgeuse and Antares are bright and - relatively - cool.
Betelgeuse, part of Orion, the Hunter shines with 60 000 times the Sun's luminosity.
A red supergiant star is characterized by a low surface temperature but high luminosity. These stars are typically in a late stage of stellar evolution, having expanded significantly and cooled after exhausting their hydrogen fuel. Despite their lower temperatures, their large size allows them to emit a substantial amount of light, resulting in high luminosity. Examples include stars like Betelgeuse and Antares.
Despite its distance and size, Betelgeuse has a high apparent magnitude because of its immense luminosity. It is a massive and highly luminous red supergiant star, shining brightly due to its large surface area and energy output. This makes it appear bright in our sky despite being relatively far away.
The red giants like Betelgeuse and Antares are bright and - relatively - cool.
The red giants like Betelgeuse and Antares are bright and - relatively - cool.
Rigel appears as bright as Betelgeuse because it is hotter and more luminous, even though it is smaller. The luminosity of a star depends on both its temperature and size, so a hotter, more luminous star can shine as brightly as a larger, cooler star.
It isn't the brightest star - at least, usually Rigel is brighter. However, Betelgeuse is variable, and can sometimes be brighter than Rigel. Wikipedia lists its luminosity as 105,000 times the luminosity of our Sun; and the distance, as 640 light years. Assuming these numbers, this would make it as bright as a star that is 10.5 times as bright as our Sun, at a distance of only 6.4 light years. In other words, the extreme luminosity compensates for its distance.