Guesses as to the identity of this star have included the polestar, the planet Venus, Sirius and the star Rigel which forms the toe of the constellation Orion, though if Aurvandil is to be identified with the constellation Orion one would expect to find Aurvandil himself being translated into the sky, not just his toe.
A star near the middle of the spectrum, such as the modest Sun or the giant Capella radiates more heat per unit of surface area than the feeble red dwarf stars or the bloated supergiants, but much less than such a white or blue star as Vega or Rigel.
Following the publication of an ephemeris by S. C. Chandler, which suggested the comet could be located 20° from Rigel by the end of February, astronomers in the United States eagerly waited for it to move far enough into northern skies to be visible.
Further, he found that cairn pairs FO, FA, and FB correspond to the rising points of the stars Sirius, Aldebaran, and Rigel, respectively.
Rigel |
Of all the stars known to the Māori, Atutahi had a special place, along with Rigel (Puanga), because of their intimate association with kūmara cultivation.
Also in 1970, a song ("Riegal") based on the story of the Rigel was released by the American psychedelic folk group Pearls Before Swine on their album The Use of Ashes.