Gemini
Cassie Brandriff, Fourth Period
Folklore
Gemini is the symbol of the twin brothers Pollux and Castor. The brothers were the sons of the same mother, Leda, but different fathers.
Pollux was immortal because of his father, the god Jupiter, and was renowned for his strength. Castor, however, was mortal because his father, the king Tyndarus of Sparta, was a mortal as well. Instead of being known for physical strength like his brother, Castor was remembered for his skill with horses. Together, the twins traveled as Argonauts in search of the fabled Golden Fleece and fought together in the Trojan War in order to return their sister home to her husband Menelaus.
When Castor died, mortal as he was, Pollux was overcome with sorrow and grief that he begged Jupiter to allow his brother to share his immortality. Jupiter knew the story of both boys’ heroism, so he reunited the brothers by transforming them into constellations and placing them high in the heavens.
Gemini: Simplified
This computer generated image labels the stars in Gemini. Star 3 is Pollux, also known as Beta (the second letter of the Greek alphabet), and star 2 is Castor, also called Alpha (the first letter of the Greek alphabet).
Gemini: Depiction
This illustration shows the brothers Castor and Pollux armed with weapons in hand as written in the mythology of the constellation. The twin brothers; together as they always were.
Gemini: Constellation
This image was taken of Gemini in the night sky. This is a real photograph. See if you can locate Castor and Pollux.
Information
Pollux is the brightest star in the entire constellation; one of the four that are brighter than 3.00 magnitude. Speaking of four stars, that's how many there are within 32.62 light years. The nearest star is Gliese 251, which is 17.99 light years away from the earth.
All in all, the total area of the constellation Gemini is approximately 514 square degrees.
The neighboring constellations around Gemini are plentiful. To the north lie Auriga and Lynx, Monoceros and Canis Minor to the south, Taurus to the west, and Cancer sits to the east.
Visibility
The easiest and best way to locate it in the sky is to pinpoint the two brightest stars, Castor and Pollux.