![]() ![]() As you look down one end of the tracks, you can see the singular headlight of the approaching train steam locomotives can have their headlight on the smokebox door or up near the funnel. Along with astronomy, George had a great fascination for trains, and once, he likened the stars of winter to watching a passing train at a railroad crossing. The end of the lineĪ good friend of mine was the late George Lovi, who wrote the "Rambling through the Sky" column for Sky & Telescope magazine for more than two decades up until his untimely death in 1993. Dimly visible to the eye under favorable conditions, a good telescope shows it as a striking pattern of stars forming curves and festoons. The best meteor display of the year - the Geminids - appear to radiate from this part of the sky in mid-December and finally, Gemini is home to M35, considered to be one of the most beautiful star clusters. Not far from Eta, Sir William Herschel discovered the planet Uranus - and in 1930, right next to the star Delta Geminorum, a tiny speck of light was identified as Pluto (once the ninth planet, now classified as a dwarf planet). Up until 1988, the summer solstice occurred within Gemini's boundaries when the sun passed near the star Eta Geminorum on June 21 (the solstice point has since shifted west into the constellation of Taurus). Since the ecliptic crosses its boundaries, the sun, moon and planets can cross through Gemini. Some consider Gemini to be the "Times Square of the sky," because it seems to entertain all sorts of interesting events. Two couples (representing Castor A and B) move around each other a few feet apart, while the third pair (representing C) dances in a far corner of the room and very, very slowly circles the first two couples. ![]() To help visualize this remarkable sextuplet stellar family, picture three waltzing couples on a giant ballroom floor. Finally, well off to the south of the main pair is Castor C, a pair of dim red stars. ![]() Furthermore, both A and B are themselves doubles, though much too close to be separated optically. ![]() In a telescope we can see two, Castor A and B. In fact, the point of light we see with the unaided eye as a single star, is in reality six stars. Originally designated as "Pollux b," the International Astronomical Union has formally christened this planet "Thestias."Ĭastor, which is farther than Pollux at 51 light-years away, has some interesting credentials as well. It is a giant world, calculated to have a mass that is 2.3 times that of Jupiter and orbits Pollux with a period of 590 days. In 1993, it was suspected that a planet was revolving around Pollux - that supposed planet was confirmed in 2006. It is estimated to be nine times bigger than our sun and is about twice as massive. Pollux is approximately 34 light-years away. Pollux now appears about twice as bright as Castor and is also listed as one of the 57 navigational stars. If true, either Pollux has grown brighter or Castor had faded, for there is a noticeable difference between them now. Some historical evidence suggests that when they were first chosen to represent the Twins, Pollux and Castor actually appeared to be twin stars of equal brightness. He also lived in New York and I often wondered if he ever tried to meet Neely in person just to set him straight. Rey's book became quite popular after its 1952 debut. Rey turns Gemini into a plausible outline: two matchstick men holding hands - the Twins. In his classic book, "The Stars – A New Way to see them" (Houghton Mifflin Co., 1952), H.A. "But," he would continue, "it is hopeless for us to try and duplicate this feat of imagery."Īnd yet, it’s not as hopeless as Neely would have liked us to think. "Somehow or other," Neely would tell his audience, "The ancient stargazers managed to find in these stars the outlines of two heroes standing close together." Connecting these three stars, Neely would make reference to the "Wedge of Gemini," a far easier pattern for stargazers of today to find. At New York's Hayden Planetarium, there was a very popular lecturer in the 1940s and '50s named Henry Neely who would point to Pollux and Castor and then down to a third bright star named Alhena, which marks one of Gemini's feet. They are just 5 degrees apart, making for a very good celestial yardstick in the sky. Its brightest stars, Pollux (yellow-orange) and Castor (bluish-white) mark the heads of the Twins. On moonless nights or in those places free of significant light pollution, stargazers can locate Gemini's feet in the Milky Way. ![]()
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