Gemini is a member of the Zodiac. To find the Twins, look for the bright stars Castor and Pollux.
Click on image for full size
Windows to the Universe original image
Gemini
The constellation Gemini is really a set of twins! If you live in the Northern Hemisphere, you can see Gemini in the winter and spring. If you live in the Southern Hemisphere, you can see it in the summer and fall.
Gemini is really easy to find. All you have to do is look for the two bright stars that make up the heads! They are called Castor and Pollux. Once you find the heads, look for their arms and legs. Gemini is right between Cancer and Taurus.
In Greek myth, the two twins are named Castor and Pollux. They were the sons of Zeus and Leda. The Romans called them Romulus and Remus. They were raised by Chiron. The heroes were put into the sky to live with the gods.
Shop Windows to the Universe Science Store!
The
Summer 2010 issue of The Earth Scientist, available in our
online store, includes articles on rivers and snow, classroom planetariums, satellites and oceanography, hands-on astronomy, and global warming.
You might also be interested in:
Constellations are pictures made up of bright stars which appear close to each other on the sky. Like a game of connect the dots, if you use your imagination when you look at the stars, you may see a dog
...more
Below the stars of Hydra, the sea serpent and Scorpius, the scorpion, you can find Centaurus. Centaurus is a half-man, half-horse creature. He faces east holding a lance which he is using to defend himself
...more
Many different constellations fill the evening sky in the northern hemisphere. Depending on your location and the season, different constellations can be seen. Northern circumpolar constellations can be
...more
Many different constellations fill the evening sky in the southern hemisphere. Depending on your location and the season, different constellations can be seen. Southern circumpolar constellations can be
...more
The constellation Carina is known as the Keel. A keel is the wooden bottom of old sailing ships. Carina used to be a part of the large constellation called Argo Navis. It was divided up into four different
...more
In most cases, however, the stars that we see that seem to be "close" to each other actually are quite far apart, some stars are much closer or farther than others as is shown in the example below of Ursa
...more
In our time, scientists (and most people!) know that the constellations seem to move across the sky because the earth rotates on its axis. What, you may ask, does the turning of the earth have to do with
...moreIf you look at the night sky different times of the year you see different constellations. This change is due to the motion of the Earth in its orbit around the Sun. Each day a few stars are visible in
...more
