su·per·gi·ant (s  p r-j  nt)n. Any of various very large bright stars, such as Betelgeuse or Rigel, having a luminosity that is thousands of times greater than that of the sun. |
supergiant [ˈsuːpəˌdʒaɪənt]
n
(Astronomy) any of a class of extremely large and luminous stars, such as Betelgeuse, which have expanded to a large diameter and are eventually likely to explode as supernovae Compare giant star, white dwarf
| supergiant (spr-jnt) A star that is larger, brighter, and more massive than a giant star, being thousands of times brighter than the Sun and having a relatively short lifespan  only about 10 to 50 million years as opposed to around 5 billion years for the Sun. Supergiants, such as Betelgeuse and Rigel in Orion, are only found in young cosmic structures such as the arms of spiral galaxies. Red supergiants such as Betelgeuse are late-stage stars, having burned most of their hydrogen in an earlier stage as main-sequence stars, and now fuse helium into heavier elements through the triple alpha process. Blue supergiants such as Rigel are thought to have evolved from red giants, though some are considered main-sequence stars. Supergiants are thought to eventually undergo a supernova, ending up as neutron stars or black holes. |
ThesaurusLegend: Synonyms Related Words Antonyms
| Noun | 1. | supergiant - an extremely bright star of very large diameter and low density star - (astronomy) a celestial body of hot gases that radiates energy derived from thermonuclear reactions in the interior |
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