Usually, the system has an apparent magnitude that varies from 14.0 to 15.1, but during an outburst, the system can reach 9th magnitude, making it 100 times brighter. All Rights Reserved. Its luminosity varies over a period of 10.148 days and ranges from magnitude 3.68 to 4.16. The smaller southern shell, seen here in a bright cyan colour on the bottom half of the image, is constructed of denser clumps and knots primarily emitting light from hydrogen gas and heated dust. Their sisters were Helen and Clytemnestra. It is sometimes known as “The Head of the Second Twin,” from the Arabic An extrasolar planet was confirmed to be orbiting the star in June 2006. The twins were young, handsome, and adventurous. In Babylonian astronomy, the stars Castor and Pollux were known as the Great Twins. The larger north-eastern shell, seen here as the violet-coloured semi-circle on the top left of the supernova remnant, is composed of sheet-like filaments that are emitting light from iron, neon, silicon and oxygen gas atoms and dust particles heated by the blast from the supernova. Polydeuces asked Zeus to share his immortality with his dead brother and the god placed them both in the sky, where they remain inseparable as the constellation Gemini.The two brightest stars in the constellation, Alpha and Beta Geminorum, mark the twins’ heads.Not everyone identified the constellation as Castor and Polydeuces in ancient times.

The brothers were also known as the Dioscuri, which means “sons of Zeus.” In most versions of the myth, however, only Polydeuces was Zeus’ son, and Castor was the son of the mortal King Tyndareus of Sparta.The twins’ mother, Spartan Queen Leda, was raped by Zeus, who visited the queen in the form of a swan, associated with the constellation Gemini constellation – Johannes Hevelius, Prodromus Astronomia, volume III: Firmamentum Sobiescianum, sive Uranographia, table DD: Gemini, 1690.Castor and Polydeuces grew up together and were very close. It has the stellar classification F0 IV, which means that it is a yellow-white subgiant star.The star’s traditional name, Wasat, means “middle” in Arabic. It has an apparent magnitude of 1.14 and is 33.78 light years distant from the solar system.Beta Geminorum has twice the Sun’s mass and about nine times the solar radius. They took part in many adventures together and were well known for their livelihood and curiosity. It lies in the second quadrant of the northern hemisphere (NQ2) and can be seen at latitudes between +90° and -60°. It is a dual lobed nebula, one that looks like it could be two different, separate objects. It consists of three components, a spectroscopic binary star and class G0 dwarf star that orbits the pair with a period of over 700 years.The primary component of the binary system is a semi-regular variable star exhibiting variations in luminosity over a period of 234 days. The origins of some constellation myths are heavily debated. It marks one of the four feet of the Gemini twins. The secondary star is of the spectral type B and orbits the red giant with a period of 8.2 years.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 28 times more luminous than the Sun, has 2.8 times the solar radius, and 2.1 times the Sun’s mass.The star’s estimated age is around 800 million years.Iota Geminorum is a fourth magnitude star belonging to the spectral class G9III. Image: Oliver Stein.It was discovered by the Swiss astronomer Philippe Loys de Chéseaux in 1745 and later independently discovered by English doctor and astronomer John Bevis before 1750.NGC 2158 is another open cluster in Gemini. This stellar relic, first spied by William Herschel in 1787, is nicknamed the Eskimo Nebula (NGC 2392) because, when viewed through ground-based telescopes, it resembles a face surrounded by a fur parka. The phenomenon is named after another patron saint of sailors, St. Erasmus of Formiae. In 1930, American astronomer Clyde Tombaugh discovered Pluto only 0.5° to the east of the star.Wasat is a very fast rotator, with a projected rotational velocity of 129.7 km/s. Gemini is a Latin word for twins, and by connecting the stars, you can see a picture of two human stick figures. It is also classified as a slow irregular variable of type LB. The cluster is located inside the Local spiral arm, a minor spiral arm of the Milky Way. It is a a red giant with the spectral classification M3IIIlab.

MYTH. Its name in Latin means twins and is named after the legend of Castor and Pollux, two half-brothers in Greek mythology. Gemini is the sign of the twins, and the third sign of the Zodiac representing those born between May 20 and June 20. Polydeuces accepted the challenge and easily won.The twins came to the crew’s rescue on a number of occasions. The origins of some constellation myths are heavily debated. Gemini mythology, luckily, is pretty straightforward. It covers an area of the sky as big as the full Moon. It is suspected to be a spectroscopic binary.The star has a proper name, Alzirr, which means “the button” in Arabic. Castor was the mortal son of King Tyndarus, while Pollux was the immortal son of Zeus. Gemini constellation is located in the northern hemisphere of the sky. It is about 224 times more luminous.The star has a brown dwarf, Tau Geminorum b, with 18.1 Jupiter masses, for a companion. Together, they were known as the Dioscuri. It has an apparent magnitude of 3.35 and is 58.7 light years distant from Earth. It has a visual magnitude of 6.7 and is approximately 7,200 light years distant from the Sun. Gemini mythology, luckily, is pretty straightforward.

The dwarf star, discovered in 2004, takes 305 days to complete an orbit around the primary star.U Geminorum is a dwarf nova in Gemini. It has an apparent magnitude of 3.78 and is approximately 326 light years distant.The star’s proper name, Propus, means “the forefoot” in Latin. Both Castor and Pollux, being identical twins, were inseparable in their looks and actions. Lynceus stabbed Castor with a sword and when Polydeuces saw this, he killed Lynceus. Gemini is a zodiacal constellation representing the twin brothers Castor and Pollux.

The star is a rapid rotator, with a projected rotational velocity of 66 km/s. It is bright enough to be seen without binoculars.Delta Geminorum is also bright enough to be visible to the naked eye.