01/12/2018 – Ephemeris – A look at Gemini the very unusual twins

Ephemeris for Friday, January 12th. The Sun will rise at 8:18. It’ll be up for 9 hours and 6 minutes, setting at 5:24. The Moon, half way from last quarter to new, will rise at 5:16 tomorrow morning.

The constellation Gemini, the Twins is visible half way up the sky in the east at 9 p.m. The namesake stars of the two lads will be on the upper left edge of the constellation, nearly vertically aligned. Castor is above, while Pollux, a slightly brighter star is below it. Lines of stars from Castor and Pollux to the right delineate the lads. In Greek mythology Castor and Pollux were twins, and half brothers, Castor was fathered by a mere mortal, while Pollux was fathered by Zeus in the famous Leda and the swan affair. The brothers, however were inseparable, and when Castor was killed during the quest for the Golden Fleece, Pollux pleaded with Zeus to let him die also. Zeus granted his wish, so they both appear in the sky together forever.

The times given are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan. They may be different for your location.

Addendum

Gemini as it should appear at 9 p.m., January 12, 2018. Created using Stellarium.

Gemini with Castor and Pollux. A closeup with a different way to link the stars with constellation art.  Created with Stellarium.