[Contents], [Among the stars]

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February: Gemini, the twins

Gemini lies just to the east of Orion. It is the constellation of the stars, Castor and Pollux, named after the mythical twins who hatched from an egg laid by Leda the swan. Castor is the northern one of the pair. These bright stars mark the heads of the twins, and their bodies may be traced with fainter stars.

• The winter Milky Way passes just west of Gemini.
• A pair of binoculars will reveal a sparkling cluster of stars near the feet of the twins.
• On December 7 each year, a stream of meteors appears to come streaming out of Gemini.

Castor and Pollux are not really twin stars.

• Castor splits into two 2nd-magnitude stars in a telescope, and the system actually is made up of six stars in all.
• Pollux is slightly yellower than Castor.

The paths of the sun, moon, and planets (the ecliptic) pass through Gemini, making it one of the zodiacal constellations.