2012ApJ...747..108M

Rigel (β Ori, B8 Ia) is a nearby blue supergiant displaying α Cyg type variability, and is one of the nearest Type II supernova progenitors. As such it is an excellent test bed to study the internal structure of pre-core-collapse stars. In this study, for the first time, we present 28 days of high-precision MOST photometry and over six years of spectroscopic monitoring. We report 19 significant pulsation modes of signal-to-noise ratio, S/N ≳ 4.6 from radial velocities, with variability timescales ranging from 1.21 to 74.7 days, which are associated with high-order low-degree gravity modes. While the radial velocity variations show a degree of correlation with the flux changes, there is no clear interplay between the equivalent widths of different metallic and Hα lines.