It has two bright ones and four very dim ones, all gravitationally bound and traveling together. The two bright stars Castor and Pollux are the eyes of the twins, but interestingly, Castor is actually six stars so distant they appear as one. From a reasonably dark site, you can see about a dozen stars, which make the twins appear as stick figures holding hands. How many stars are in the Gemini constellation?Įven in bright locations, if you can see stars, you’re likely to be able to see Castor and Pollux. Pollux’s right foot is the star Alhena, a bright star right in line between the even brighter stars Pollux and red Betelgeuse in Orion. The stars represent the eyes of the twins with their feet just dangling in the Milky Way. Gemini has two bright stars, which are named Castor and Pollux, twins of Greek mythology. How can you find the Gemini constellation? It is between Cancer and Orion/Taurus, with the horns of Taurus pointing to it and being above Orion's head. Being a sign of the zodiac, Gemini will travel across the sky to the south as the Earth spins, for those of us north of the Tropic of Cancer. Where is the Gemini constellation?ĭuring July, the sun is right in the middle of Gemini, so it cannot be viewed at night. We asked Mike Reed, an astronomer and a distinguished professor in the Department of Physics, Astronomy and Materials at Missouri State University, a few frequently asked questions about the Gemini constellation.ĭistinguished Professor in the Department of Physics, Astronomy and Materials at Missouri State University. Gemini constellation FAQs answered by an expert During a familial dispute (or perhaps in battle), Castor was killed, but Pollux shared his immortality with his brother so that they could be together forever. The inseparable duo was known as the Dioscuri. As such, Castor was mortal and Pollux was immortal, according to the Chandra X-ray Observatory. MythologyĬastor and Polydeuces, or Pollux in Latin, were twin brothers in Greek mythology born to Queen Leda of Sparta and two fathers: King Tyndareus of Sparta and the god Zeus. Though the shower originates from the debris trail of asteroid 3200 Phaethon, its radiant point (that is, the point from which the meteors appear to emanate), is in the constellation Gemini. The Geminid meteor shower is one of the most prolific meteor showers of the year, with a rate of 120 meteors per hour during its peak, according to NASA. In this photograph, the Geminid meteor shower is seen above the Kubuqi Desert of Inner Mongolia, China on Dec. The Geminid meteor shower can produce over one hundred meteors per hour. It measures an object's location in the north-south direction in degrees, arcminutes and arcseconds (there are 60 arcseconds in an arcmin, 60 arcmins in a degree). It's used in conjunction with declination to help astronomers locate celestial objects.ĭeclination (Dec): Declination is comparable to latitude on Earth. It covers the east-west direction and is measured in hours, minutes and seconds. Right ascension (RA): Right ascension can be considered the sky's version of longitude on Earth. Magnitude can even be measured in negative numbers, which indicate higher levels of brightness than positive numbers. Magnitude : Magnitude is a measure of how bright an object appears from Earth the lower an object's magnitude, the brighter it is. Related: Night sky: What you can see tonight If you're looking to gear up for a stargazing session, read our guides to the best telescopes and best binoculars. Gemini is full of targets for observation, both "near" and far. (Image credit: Daisy Dobrijevic) Gemini observing targets Gemini is a constellation high in the winter sky and contains a number of interesting observing targets.
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