Have you ever wondered how to see the Gemini in the sky during the nighttime? If yes, then there a number of ways that you can use. But first of all, you should find some interesting facts about the Gemini. There is an ancient mythology related to this constellation describing the heavenly twins. So, you should start with the proper information with this constellation.
About the Gemini
There are different constellations in the universe. Among them, Gemini is one of them that is situated in the northern hemisphere of the sky. When we talk about the Southern Hemisphere, it can be viewed in the summer months. It will appear upside down in the Hemisphere of the South. According to the Latin term, it is meant as ‘the twins.’ It is a zodiac constellation. It is similar to its name. This constellation ranks at 48th position defined by the second century astrophysicist Ptolemy.
What’s about the location?
It can be easily located in the sky. If you are an amateur star gazer, then it can also be visible to you without any hassle. When it comes to the location of this constellation, it lies between Cancer to the east and Taurus to the west, with Lynx and Auriga to the north side and Canis Minor and Monoceros to the south. The right ascension is 7 hours, and its declination is 20 degrees. It is visible between 90 latitudes and -6 degrees.
If you want to know its best viewing time, then it is during the month of the February. It is also good to know that it can be observed soon after sunset in the direction of the west. Apart from that, there are some other months in which you can see the constellation. The months like January and February have a grand time for seeing the Gemini. The reason is that it is well up in the east when the night falls and stays out for all the night. It climbs to the highest level in the sky when the time is set to 10 pm based on the local time during the earlier stage of the February and when there is a late February, you can see around 9 pm in the night. The time is all according to the local time that is the time you have in your clock irrespective of the fact where you live in any part of the world.
History
There are 2 large stars that present the head of the twins and these are named after the chractaters according to the Greek mythology and the names of these characters are Castor and Pollux. If we see the Chinese philosophy, both of these characters are stellar representations of the opposite of the nature named as Yin and Yang. Castor and Pollux were seen as protectors of the sailors by the antique seafarers. An interesting thing is that this constellation seems to be the 12th signs of the zodiac.
Now, we will move ahead to know about the major stars to be found in this constellation:
- Castor
It is known as Alpha Geminorum. It is eventually a 6-star system with 3 binary stars that revolve around each other. The star, which is the primary one has around 3 times the mass of the sun and two times its radius.
- Pollux
It is a giant star that is orange in color. It is the star that lies around 34 light years from the planet, Earth. It is around 9 times bigger than the sun with two times its mass. Another major thing to know about the Pollux is one of the brightest stars in it and it’s another name is the Beta Geminorum.
- Wasat
It’s another name is the Delta Geminorum. It is actually a 3-star system that is around 60 light years away from the Earth. It is the system that comprises of a pair of binary stars that are orbited by a 3rd dimmer star.
- Mebsuta
It is supergiant in nature that is in the yellowish-orange color. It is around 800 light years from Earth. This star is around 150 times bigger in diameter as compared to the sun with twenty times its mass. It has another name Epsilion Geminorum.
- Mekbuda
This supergiant star has a similarity in terms of the surface temperature to the sun. It is around 65 times bigger in diameter than the major star, the sun with about 8 times its mass. We can also call it as Zeta Geminorum.
- Alhena
It is a white star that is in the procedure of turning into a giant. It is around 100 light years from the Earth with a mass and a radius of around 3 times that of the sun.
- Alzirr
The mass of this star is around one a half times that of the sun along with a radius almost 3 times greater. The color of this star is yellow and white. It is around 60 light years away from the Earth.
- Tejat Posterior
It is a red giant having a luminosity higher than 2500 times that of the sun. It makes it one of the brightest stars in the constellation. It is situated around 230 light years from the planet, Earth.
- Propus
It is a 3-star system that is around 350 light years from the Earth. It is a star that is red in color and one of the biggest stars in the universe. It has two other names, which are Eta Geminorum and Tejat Prior.
Aside from that, this constellation also has some deep-sky objects and meteor showers. The deep sky objects are M35, Eskimo Nebula, Medusa Nebula, and many others that you can come to know about on the web. When it comes to the meteor showers, the name is the Geminids that seem to be a bright meteor shower. To know more about the Gemini, it is a good idea to visit online regarding the best time to view it in the night time, its location, and much more.