The constellation of Gemini, the Twins // Steffen Elste
Click below to read more about the stars that make up Gemini as well as an annotated image!
In order of brightness:
Pollux (β Geminorum) is the brightest star in the constellation. It is an orange giant star about 34 light years from Earth. In 2006, an exoplanet was possibly detected around Pollux; it was named Thestias. The name, like Castor (α Geminorum) below, comes from the story of Castor and Pollux in Greek mythology.
Castor (α Geminorum) is the second-brightest star in the constellation. This is a sextuple star system about 49 light years from Earth. The system consists of two blue-white giants and four red dwarf stars.
Alhena (γ Geminorum) is a binary star consisting of a blue-white giant star and a yellow star like our Sun. The whole system is about 109 light years away. The name comes from the Arabic word Al Han'ah meaning "the brand."
Tejat (μ Geminorum) is a solitary red giant star about 230 light years from Earth. The name comes from the Arabic word tiḥyāt although the meaning of this word has been lost.
Mebsuta (ε Geminorum) is yellow-orange supergiant star about 860 light years from Earth. It is over 130 times the size of the Sun! The name comes from the Arabic word Mabsūṭah meaning "outstretched paw."
Propus (η Geminorum) is a triple star system consisting of a red giant, a blue-white star, and a yellow giant. The entire system is about 380 light years away. The name comes from the Greek word propus meaning "forward foot."
Alzirr (ξ Geminorum) is a blue-white giant star about 59 light years from Earth. Its name comes from the Arabic word al-zirr meaning "the button."
Wasat (δ Geminorum) is a triple star system consisting of at least a white giant star and a red dwarf. The entire system is about 60 light years from Earth. The name comes from the Arabic word for "middle."
κ Geminorum is a binary star system with the primary being a yellow-orange giant star. The system lies about 141 light years away. In Chinese astronomy, the star has the name Jīxīn (積薪) meaning "pile of firewood."
λ Geminorum is a potential multiple star system. The primary star is a blue-white giant star about 101 light years away.
θ Geminorum is a single blue-white giant star about 189 light years away.
ι Geminorum is a single yellow-orange giant star about 120 light years away. In Chinese astronomy, it has the name Wu Zhū Hóu sān (五諸侯三) meaning "third star of the five feudal kings."
Mekbuda (ζ Geminorum) is yellow-white supergiant star about 1,120 light years from Earth. Its name comes from an Arabic phrase meaning "the lion's folded paw."
ν Geminorum is a triple star system consisting of at least two blue giant stars. The system is about 540 light years away. One star catalog gave it the name Nucatai, which comes from the Arabic word Al Nuḥātai meaning "the camel's hump."
1 Geminorum is a triple star system consisting of an orange giant, a blue-white giant, and a yellow Sun-like star. The system is about 153 light years from Earth.
JELLYFISH NEBULA
The Jellyfish nebula is normally faint and elusive, but was caught in this false-colour telescopic view. The nebula is about 5,000 light years distant from Earth, and the image is about 300 light years across.
On either side of the nebula are two bright stars, Mu and Eta Geminorum; the Nebula itself is the brighter arcing ridge of emission with what looks like tentacles dangling below and right of centre. The emission nebula Sharpless 249 is at the upper left in the field of view.
The Jellyfish Nebula is seen to be part of bubble-shaped supernova remnant IC 443, which harbours a neutron star. The light from that supernova explosion reached Earth over 30,000 years ago.
The image is a narrowband composite, which maps emission from oxygen, hydrogen and sulphur atoms to blue, green and red colours.
-TEL
http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap100515.html
Image credit: Bob Franke
NASA Astronomy Picture Of the Day | 2021-05-19 | The Jellyfish and Mars
NASA Astronomy Picture Of the Day | 2021-05-19 | The Jellyfish and Mars
Normally faint and elusive, the Jellyfish Nebula is caught in this alluring scene. In the telescopic field of view two bright yellowish stars, Mu and Eta Geminorum, stand just below and above the Jellyfish Nebula at the left. Cool red giants, they lie at the foot of the celestial twin. The Jellyfish Nebula itself floats below and left of center, a bright arcing ridge of emission with dangling…
The Jellyfish Nebula (IC 443, center) and friends // kuechlew
The friends include the Monkey Head Nebula (NGC 2174) in the bottom right, the Shoe-Buckle Cluster (M35) in the upper right, and the stars Propus (η Geminorum) to the right of the Jellyfish and Tejat (μ Geminorum) to the left of the Jellyfish.
The bright star to the left is Propus (η Geminorum), a triple star system consisting of a red giant, a blue-white giant, and a yellow-white giant. The name comes from the Greek word πρόπουϛ meaning "forward foot."
