Constellations · Constellation · Geminorum · Gem
Constellation
Gemini
The twins Castor and Pollux, side by side. Castor, it turns out, is six stars in one.
- Genitive
- Geminorum
- Area
- 514 square degrees · 30th of 88
- Brightest star
- Pollux · magnitude 1.16
- Naked-eye stars
- 119 brighter than magnitude 6.5
- Highest at midnight
- early January
Myth
Castor was mortal and Pollux immortal. When Castor was killed, Pollux asked to share his immortality; Zeus let them spend their days alternately in the heavens and the underworld, together.
Discovery
In 1781, from his garden in Bath, William Herschel found a new planet near the feet of the Twins — Uranus, the first planet discovered since antiquity. Pluto was found here too, in 1930.
Look for
Every December the Geminid meteors radiate from near Castor — one of the richest showers of the year.