Published: Sunday, March 10, 2013, 12:01 a.m.
Gemini the Twins shines brightly this week
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Celestial twins also shine over the Northwest as we move toward spring. Gemini is one of the brightest of the 66 constellations that we see through the course of the year around here, and it's easy to find near "Orion and his gang."
Just look for the famous constellation Orion the Hunter in the southern sky as soon as it's dark enough in the evening. You can't miss it. It's the one that looks like a giant hourglass with the three bright stars in a perfect row that make up Orion's belt.
Look for two identically bright stars close together to the upper left of Orion. These are the stars Castor and Pollux, the heads of the twins Castor and Pollux. Unless you're in heavy city lighting, you should see two faint parallel lines of stars to the lower right of Castor and Pollux.
Those are the bodies of the twins that remind me of stickmen. The feet of Castor and Pollux are not that far away from Betelgeuse, the star that marks Orion's armpit.
Slowly scan the constellation Gemini the Twins with binoculars or a telescope and you'll see some nice star clusters, groups of young stars that were born out of the same giant gas cloud.
An especially nice open cluster of youthful stars is called Messier Object 35, or M35 for short. It's off the foot of Castor and it's wonderful.
The brightest stars in Gemini, Castor and Pollux have quite a story. Pollux is a giant star, more than 8 million miles in diameter. That's nine times the diameter of our sun. It's also 40 times more luminous than our sun and sports a surface temperature of almost 8,000 degrees.
A moderate telescope reveals that Castor is a beautiful double star, but a larger telescope reveals that what appears to be a single star to the naked eye is actually a collection of six stars all revolving around each other in an intricate cosmic ballet.
Can you imagine living on a planet going around one of those stars? You'd have six sunrises and six sunsets every day.
Over the years the constellation Gemini the Twins became a good luck charm to sailors and travelers.
Comet Panstarrs
It's been awhile since we've been able to see a comet with the naked eye around here, but we may get a chance this week. This week Comet Panstarrs will be visible in the low western sky in the evening twilight.
You may not be able to see it with the naked eye, but a small telescope or a decent pair of binoculars should do it. On Wednesday evening Panstarrs will be just to the lower right of the thin crescent moon and on Thursday evening it will be a little farther to the west of the moon.
You'll probably be underwhelmed with Comet Panstarrs, but hang in there, comet fans. Comet Ison is on the way to our skies and should be a lot brighter.
Mike Lynch is an astronomer and professional broadcast meteorologist for WCCO Radio in Minneapolis and is author of "Stars, a Month by Month Tour of the Constellations." Check his website, www.lynchandthestars.com.
The Everett Astronomical Society: www.everettastro.org/.
Just look for the famous constellation Orion the Hunter in the southern sky as soon as it's dark enough in the evening. You can't miss it. It's the one that looks like a giant hourglass with the three bright stars in a perfect row that make up Orion's belt.
Look for two identically bright stars close together to the upper left of Orion. These are the stars Castor and Pollux, the heads of the twins Castor and Pollux. Unless you're in heavy city lighting, you should see two faint parallel lines of stars to the lower right of Castor and Pollux.
Those are the bodies of the twins that remind me of stickmen. The feet of Castor and Pollux are not that far away from Betelgeuse, the star that marks Orion's armpit.
Slowly scan the constellation Gemini the Twins with binoculars or a telescope and you'll see some nice star clusters, groups of young stars that were born out of the same giant gas cloud.
An especially nice open cluster of youthful stars is called Messier Object 35, or M35 for short. It's off the foot of Castor and it's wonderful.
The brightest stars in Gemini, Castor and Pollux have quite a story. Pollux is a giant star, more than 8 million miles in diameter. That's nine times the diameter of our sun. It's also 40 times more luminous than our sun and sports a surface temperature of almost 8,000 degrees.
A moderate telescope reveals that Castor is a beautiful double star, but a larger telescope reveals that what appears to be a single star to the naked eye is actually a collection of six stars all revolving around each other in an intricate cosmic ballet.
Can you imagine living on a planet going around one of those stars? You'd have six sunrises and six sunsets every day.
Over the years the constellation Gemini the Twins became a good luck charm to sailors and travelers.
Comet Panstarrs
It's been awhile since we've been able to see a comet with the naked eye around here, but we may get a chance this week. This week Comet Panstarrs will be visible in the low western sky in the evening twilight.
You may not be able to see it with the naked eye, but a small telescope or a decent pair of binoculars should do it. On Wednesday evening Panstarrs will be just to the lower right of the thin crescent moon and on Thursday evening it will be a little farther to the west of the moon.
You'll probably be underwhelmed with Comet Panstarrs, but hang in there, comet fans. Comet Ison is on the way to our skies and should be a lot brighter.
Mike Lynch is an astronomer and professional broadcast meteorologist for WCCO Radio in Minneapolis and is author of "Stars, a Month by Month Tour of the Constellations." Check his website, www.lynchandthestars.com.
The Everett Astronomical Society: www.everettastro.org/.
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