Rigel
RigelStar.jpg

Introduction

Rigel was a major navigation star in Terran antiquity. It lies 800 lightyears from Sol and the heart of the Solar Union, placing it in the middle regions of the Terran Sphere. It is one of the more populous independent Terran systems due to it's large number of resource rich worlds and historical cultural significance. It is among the largest and most powerful stars in the galaxy.

Factfile

System name: Rigel (Rigel Alpha A)
Traditional names: Beta Orionis, Genji-boshi, Rigl al-Gabbar, Seba-en-Sah, Shenxiu Qi
Location: Terran Sphere, Hinterlands; Rigel Sector
Allegiance: Star Kingdom of Rigel

Stellar class: B8II
Secondary components:

  • Rigel Beta B (class F7IV, distance: 900 AU)
  • Rigel Gamma C & Delta D (class B9V, distance: 2200 AU)

Planetary system:

  • Rigel I (Ferrinian Hephaestian)
  • Azrael (Ferrinian Chthonian)
  • Charon (Silician Arean)
  • Styx (Hyperthermal MesoJovian)
    • Cerberus (Carbonean Postgaian)
    • Wyvern (Carbonean Gaian)
  • Aliakmonas (Epistellar MesoJovian)
    • Unicorn (Silician Gaian)
    • Phoenix (Silician Hephaestian)
    • Pegasus (Silician EuGaian)
    • Medusa (Ferrinian EuXeric)
  • Rhine (Epistellar SuperJovian)
    • Cambion (Carbonean Gaian)
    • Rigel Prime (Ferrinian CiGaian)
    • Salamander (Ferrinian Arean)
  • Nile (Epistellar MesoJovian)
    • Sphinx (Ferrinian EuGaian)
    • Anubis (Ferrinian Gaian)
  • Indus (Azuri SubJovian)
    • Shiva (Silician EuPelagic)
  • Tigris (Typi SubJovian)
    • Manticore (Silician CiXeric)
  • Rigel IX (Carbonean Arean)
  • Rigel X (Carbonean Arean)
  • Rigel XI (Ferrinian Cytherean)
  • Rigel XII (Carbonean Arean)
  • Rigel XIII (Ferrinian Arean)
  • Rigel XIV (Europan Gaian)
  • Rigel XV (Ymerian Arean)
  • Rigel XVI (Ferrinian Arean)
  • Rigel XVII (Ymerian Cytherean)
  • Rigel Beta
    • Rigel B I (Silician Arean)
    • Gryphon (Ferrinian EuGaian)
    • Basilisk (Carbonean Chlorogaian)
    • Yale (Carbonean Gaian)
    • Rigel B V (Carbonean Arean)
  • Rigel Gamma & Delta
    • Leviathan (Ferrinian Arean)
    • Rigel CD II (Ferrinian Arean)
    • Rigel CD III (Silician Arean)
    • Amazon (Hydro MesoJupiter)
      • Sylph (Ferrinian CiGaian)
    • Enfield (Silician EuPelagic)
    • Rigel CD VI (Ymerian Arean)
    • Volga (Cryo MesoJovian)
      • Turul (Ferrinian EuXeric)
    • Lindorm (Silician Chlorogaian)
    • Rigel CD IX (Carbonean Cytherean)
    • Rigel CD X (Europan Gaian)
    • Rigel CD XI (Ymerian Arean)
  • Rigel XVIII (Ferrinian Arean)
  • Rigel XIX (Ymerian Arean)
  • Tikbalang (Ymerian Gaian)
  • Rigel XXI (Silician Arean)

NOTE: Uninhabited minor satellites (asteroids, dwarfs, and moons) are not listed.

Description

Rigel is the sixth brightest star in the sky when viewed from Terra. A blue supergiant 20 times more massive than Sol and approximately 85,000 times brighter with an apparent magnitude of 0.18. It is a multiple star system featuring three companions, two of which form a spectroscopic binary that orbits around a common center of gravity 80 AU apart, some 2200 AU from Rigel Alpha.

Rigel Beta was not discovered until the first Terran probes arrived in-system.

Only the most prominent of Rigel's satellites are named; as a whole, the system is populated by no less than one hundred thousand such satellites. All satellites classed as dwarf planets or smaller may or may not be named, but such titles are used only in colloquial parlance, regardless of the importance of whatever settlements they may harbor. The Star Kingdom of Rigel calls them stations.

Rigel Alpha is surrounded by a large accretion disc which extends nearly 100 AU outwards in every direction, save for a region of empty space around the star's equator roughly 10 AU in radius at it's widest. Any objects within this vicinity were vaporized by the intense heat, radiation, and stellar wind of the star long ago. The accretion disc is heavily mined by the inhabitants of the system.

The Rigel system has five distinct asteroid belts. The first lies at 110 AU from Rigel Alpha, just beyond the outer edges of the accretion disc and is thought to be the remnants of a planet which failed to form. The second belt is found at 190 AU, between Styx and Aliakmonas, and the third is found at 900 AU. The third belt is particularly dense and features many dwarf planet-sized objects.

The fourth belt's orbit is inclined relative to the ecliptic some 30 degrees and has been thinned considerably by it's largest member, Rigel XIX, a small planet nearly 3200 AU from Rigel Alpha, and 1000 AU from Rigel Gamma & Delta. Finally, a fifth belt is found almost 5200 AU from Rigel Alpha, but is still not made of the most distant objects from the star, but they are among the most remote.

For years Tikbalang, with it's prominent research outpost (owned and operated by Tikbalang RD), was considered the most distant satellite. However, the discovery of another planet 9000 AU from Rigel Alpha was made and it was dubbed Rigel XXI. Following this discovery a long-distance survey was begun but produced no results and so the Star Kingdom cut funding less than a decade later.

Nine worlds in the system are capable of supporting life and three others are being terraformed.

History

  • ~??? BC: Discovery and naming of Rigel
  • 1831 AD: Rigel is declared a spectroscopic binary system
  • 1978 AD: Rigel A's companion, Rigel B, is declared a binary
  • 1992 AD: A fourth star is theorized to exist within the system
  • 2007 AD: Rigel's luminosity is calculated by Terran astronomers
  • 2008 AD: The spectral class of Rigel is incorrectly established as B8Iab
  • 2009 AD: The radius of Rigel is accurately calculated
  • 2021 AD: Terran scientists confirm the presence of a fourth star
  • 2023 AD: Rigel's spectral class is resolved with new information as B8II
  • 2024 AD: The Rigel B binary officially becomes Rigel C and D
  • 2142 AD: The OVLT confirms the presence of an accretion disc around Rigel

Trivia

  • Rigel Alpha is so bright that all inhabitants within 5000 AU must wear sunglasses to protect their eyes. Even with the latest advances in affordable materials wearers of such sunglasses could still be blinded by the star. Several bionic eyes exist which allow filtering of the intense rays but the artificial retinal shaders degrade slowly, making the implants very expensive over time.