It is usually the brightest star in the constellation, only occasionally surpassed by Betelgeuse during its greatest maximum. With its brightness of 0.14mag, it is the seventh brightest star in the sky. It is of spectral type B8, so its blue-white color is clearly visible to the naked eye. Rigel is 78 times larger and 12,000 times more luminous than our Sun, and it is located at a distance of 860 light-years.