These are clouds of gas that have formed around dying sun-like stars. It has been imaged by the Hubble Space Telescope and is about 4, light-years from Earth. Search it out by looking just to the left of Pollux's waist marked on the chart.
The other object is called the Medusa Nebula, and it's a real challenge to see. Search for it along the border with Canis Minor, below Pollux's knee. Finally, meteor shower fans spend each December observing the Geminid Meteor shower.
It's a shower created by a stream of material left behind by the asteroid Phaethon as it orbits the Sun. The meteors are not actually from Gemini, but they appear to "radiate" from the constellation. In a good year, observers can spot upwards of or so meteors per hour from this shower. As a starry constellation, Gemini has appeared in both space science and astronomy, as well as science fiction. NASA's Gemini missions were named for this star pattern because they each carried two astronauts to space.
The Gemini Observatory has two domes, one in Hawai'i and one in Chile, both inspired by the starry twins. Finally, science fiction writer Robert A. Heinlein named two of his teenaged characters after the two bright stars Castor and Pollux. Actively scan device characteristics for identification.
Use precise geolocation data. Select personalised content. Create a personalised content profile. Measure ad performance. Messier 35 is located at 3, light-years away from Earth , and it was discovered in by astronomer Phillippe Loys de Chesaux. Messier 35 has an apparent magnitude of 5.
The apparent dimensions of this open cluster have been estimated at around 28 arcminutes. The compact cluster NGC lies directly southwest of Messier M35 is believed to be around million years old, containing around 1, solar masses.
The constellation of Gemini hosts many interesting stars, however, the stars Pollux and Castor dominate the constellation, with Pollux being the brightest member in Gemini. Pollux, designated as Beta Geminorum, is the 18 th brightest star in the night sky, and the brightest in Gemini with an apparent magnitude of 1. Pollux is an evolved giant star , appearing orange-hued, and it is the closest giant star to our Sun , located at only Despite its impressive feats, Pollux is actually cooler than our Sun, having temperatures of around 4, K.
Since , the spectrum of Pollux has served as one of the stable anchor points by which other stars are classified. In , an exoplanet designated as Pollux b, has been confirmed to orbit the giant star.
Pollux b has an estimated mass of around 2. It orbits the giant star once every days. Many cultures around the world associated Pollux and Castor as two of something, such as Yin and Yang, two gazelles, two-kid goats, the brothers that founded Rome, Romulus, and Regulus , and so on.
Among the 58 stars selected for celestial navigation, Pollux is the only one listed from Gemini. Castor, also designated as Alpha Geminorum, is the second-brightest star in Gemini, situated at around 51 light-years away from Earth. Castor has an apparent magnitude of 1. Castor is a multiple star system, with around six confirmed members. The most prominent are two A-class main-sequence stars that have red dwarf companions. Alhena, designated as Gamma Geminorum, is a blue evolving star, being the third brightest star in Gemini, located at around light-years away.
Alhena has an apparent magnitude of 1. This star has exhausted its hydrogen supplies and has entered the subgiant stage. Wasat, designated as Delta Geminorum, is a triple star system in Gemini, comprised out of a subgiant star, a cooler K-type companion, while the third remains hard to be resolved and established. Wasat is situated at around Mebsuta, designated as Epsilon Geminorum, is a yellow supergiant star located at around light-years away from us.
Mekbuda, designated as Zeta Geminorum is a bright classical Cepheid variable star, having an apparent magnitude of 3. Mekbuda is located at around 1, light-years away from us. Propus , designated as Eta Geminorum, is a triple star system in Gemini situated at around light-years away from us.
This system has an apparent magnitude of 3. Apart from Castor and Pollux, the Western world tends to identify the twins as the mythical founders of Rome, Romulus and Remus.
As we have already mentioned, the two brightest stars Castor and Pollux represent the legendary twins from ancient Greek mythology. According to the ancient Greek myth, they were the children of Leda, an Aetolian princess who became a Spartan queen. Castor, who was a great horseman, was the mortal son of King Tyndarus, while Pollux, a great fighter, was the immortal son of Zeus, who seduced Leda. The ancient myth also says that Castor was very good at fencing, and he even taught Heracles this art.
Although Castor and Pollux were half-brothers, they were very close. When Castor was killed in a battle, Pollux begged his father Zeus to give Castor immortality, and Zeus did it by turning them into bright stars in the sky. The Gemini constellation contains 85 stars that can be seen with the naked eye. Not to mention, Gemini contains 10 officially named stars. The brightest star in Gemini is Pollux, or Beta Geminorum. Pollux is the 17th brightest star in the night sky.
Interestingly, Pollux has a planet revolving around it. The 2nd brightest star in the Gemini constellation is a magnitude 1. The third component is classified as a variable star and has the designation YY Geminorum. The primary component belongs to the spectral class A1 V and its companion is believed to be of spectral type M5 V. The stars of the secondary component have the stellar classifications A2 Vm and M2 V.
Castor is approximately 51 light years distant from the Sun. Pollux is the brightest star in Gemini and the 17th brightest star in the night sky. It is an evolved orange giant with the stellar classification K0 III. It has an apparent magnitude of 1.
An extrasolar planet was confirmed to be orbiting the star in June The planet, Pollux b, has a mass at least 2. Alhena , Gamma Geminorum, is another bright star in Gemini. With an apparent magnitude of 1. The star is approximately light years distant from Earth. It is about times more luminous than the Sun. It is a supergiant belonging to the spectral class G8 Ib. It has an apparent magnitude of 3. The star is about 8, times more luminous than the Sun and has 19 times the solar mass.
Epsilon Geminorum is also sometimes called Melboula or Melucta. Mu Geminorum is the fourth brightest star in the Gemini constellation. It has a visual magnitude of 2. The star belongs to the spectral class M3 III, which means that it is a red giant. It is also classified as a slow irregular variable of type LB. It exhibits variations in luminosity between magnitude 2. Eta Geminorum is a multiple star approximately light years from Earth. It consists of three components, a spectroscopic binary star and class G0 dwarf star that orbits the pair with a period of over years.
The primary component of the binary system is a semi-regular variable star exhibiting variations in luminosity over a period of days. It is a a red giant with the spectral classification M3IIIlab.
Its brightness ranges between magnitude 3. The secondary star is of the spectral type B and orbits the red giant with a period of 8.
Eta Geminorum is located near the ecliptic and can occasionally be occulted by the Moon and very rarely by a planet. Xi Geminorum is a yellow-white subgiant star belonging to the spectral class F5 IV, about 11 times more luminous than the Sun. It is suspected to be a spectroscopic binary.
It marks one of the four feet of the Gemini twins. It is bright enough to be seen without binoculars. Delta Geminorum is also bright enough to be visible to the unaided eye.
It has a visual magnitude of 3. It has the stellar classification F0 IV, which means that it is a yellow-white subgiant star. The star is also sometimes known by its Chinese name, Ta Tsun.
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