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Gemini
Even in late spring, Gemini still looms in the western sky. Adjacent to familiar Orion, Gemini’s twin heads are accented by two bright stars, Castor and Pollux (aka Alpha and Beta Gem). Usually, the most brilliant stars in a constellation are labeled with Greek letters in order of brightness—the brightest being alpha, next beta, gamma, and so on—but Gemini's alpha star is actually slightly dimmer than beta. Astronomers have reasoned that this could be a result of a change in the luminosity (true brightness) of one or both stars over time. Castor may look like a single star, but it is actually a “physical system”—a combination of two or more stars locked in orbit around each other. Remarkably, each of Castor's three main stars has a companion star, making it a whopping six-star system! Look for Open cluster M35 (visible to the unaided eye) near the twins' feet. With a medium telescope, try investigating NGC2932-The Eskimo Nebula—sometimes called the “clownface” nebula, a planetary nebula near the middle of this constellation.
Are you ready for a eye-full of stars? Try M44, the Beehive Cluster. Travel west along the celestial equator from Regulus (in Leo) toward the centermost star in the constellation Cancer (the Crab), then hop about 1 degree west and 1 degree north to find it.
Even in late spring, Gemini still looms in the western sky. Adjacent to familiar Orion, Gemini’s twin heads are accented by two bright stars, Castor and Pollux (aka Alpha and Beta Gem). Usually, the most brilliant stars in a constellation are labeled with Greek letters in order of brightness—the brightest being alpha, next beta, gamma, and so on—but Gemini's alpha star is actually slightly dimmer than beta. Astronomers have reasoned that this could be a result of a change in the luminosity (true brightness) of one or both stars over time. Castor may look like a single star, but it is actually a “physical system”—a combination of two or more stars locked in orbit around each other. Remarkably, each of Castor's three main stars has a companion star, making it a whopping six-star system! Look for Open cluster M35 (visible to the unaided eye) near the twins' feet. With a medium telescope, try investigating NGC2932-The Eskimo Nebula—sometimes called the “clownface” nebula, a planetary nebula near the middle of this constellation.
The Beehive
