Short Constellation Guide

The Twins (Gemini)

The Twins are a part of the winter sky. They lie between the Bull (in the West) and the Crab (in the East), which is only moderately bright. The stars Castor and Pollux are found in the Twins.

From mythology – an interesting story that has been told for many centuries

The twins Castor and Pollux were only half-brothers; their mother was named Leda, but they had different fathers. The twins because Argonauts who sailed with Jason in search of the Golden Fleece. In an attack on the Argonauts, Castor was killed by Idas. Pollux was so upset by the death of his brother that Zeus set them both in the heavens, side by side.

Finding the constellation in the sky

As mentioned above, the Twins lie between the Bull and the Crab north of the celestial equator. This is an imaginary line, namely the projection of the earth’s equator onto the sphere of the sky. At about the beginning of February, the Twins reach their highest point in the sky (for central European latitudes at 10:00 pm). Two bright stars appear high over the horizon in the south, 4.5° apart. They are Castor (Alpha Geminorum) and Pollux (Beta Geminorum). These two stars, with the magnitudes of 1 and 2, represent the heads of the twins. The other stars comprising the twins may be connected from northeast to southwest, and make up the torsos and limbs of the figures. A line from star 7 (Rigel) in Orion through star 3 will lead you to Pollux. Also, go from star 5 in Orion via star 1 (Betelgeuse) to Castor, which lies about 30° away from star 1.