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Castor and Pollux
Castor and Pollux
Credit: Giuseppe Donatiello
Castor and Pollux are twin half-brothers in Greek and Roman mythology, known together as the Dioscuri. Their mother was Leda, but they had different fathers. Castor was the mortal son of Tyndareus, the king of Sparta, while Pollux was the divine son of Zeus, who seduced Leda in the guise of a swan.
Castor is the second-brightest star in Gemini. It has the Bayer designation α Geminorum, which is Latinised to Alpha Geminorum. With a visual magnitude of 1.58, it is one of the brightest stars in the night sky. Castor is actually a sextuple star system organized into three binary pairs.
Pollux is the brightest star in the constellation Gemini. It has the Bayer designation β Geminorum, which is Latinised to Beta Geminorum. It is an evolved red giant at a distance of 34 light-years, making it the closest red giant (and giant star) to the Sun.
Sigma Geminorum (σ Gem) is a binary star system. It is visible to the naked eye with a magnitude 4.20 at 125 light-years.
110/250mm (f/2.2) astrograph
Castor and Pollux
Castor and Pollux
Credit: Giuseppe Donatiello
Castor and Pollux are twin half-brothers in Greek and Roman mythology, known together as the Dioscuri. Their mother was Leda, but they had different fathers. Castor was the mortal son of Tyndareus, the king of Sparta, while Pollux was the divine son of Zeus, who seduced Leda in the guise of a swan.
Castor is the second-brightest star in Gemini. It has the Bayer designation α Geminorum, which is Latinised to Alpha Geminorum. With a visual magnitude of 1.58, it is one of the brightest stars in the night sky. Castor is actually a sextuple star system organized into three binary pairs.
Pollux is the brightest star in the constellation Gemini. It has the Bayer designation β Geminorum, which is Latinised to Beta Geminorum. It is an evolved red giant at a distance of 34 light-years, making it the closest red giant (and giant star) to the Sun.
Sigma Geminorum (σ Gem) is a binary star system. It is visible to the naked eye with a magnitude 4.20 at 125 light-years.
110/250mm (f/2.2) astrograph