Pollux (β Gem / β Geminorum / Beta Geminorum) is one of the brightest star in the constellationGemini and one of the brightest stars in the nighttime sky. Although it has the Bayer designation "beta", it is actually brighter than Alpha Geminorum (Castor). Beta (upper case Î’, lower case β) is the second letter of the Greek alphabet. ... Orion is a remarkable constellation, visible from most places on the globe (but not always the whole year long). ... In mythology, the Gemini are Castor and Polydeuces. ... Bright stars can be bright because they produce more light, or because they are closer to us. ... Many of the brighter stars are given names which are known as Bayer designations. ... Castor (α Gem / α Geminorum / Alpha Geminorum) is the second brightest star in the constellation Gemini and one of the brightest stars in the nighttime sky. ...
Castor and Pollux are the two "heavenly twin" stars that give the constellation Gemini (meaning "twins" in Latin) its name, ironically these two stars are nothing alike, Castor is a hot white quadruple star, while Pollux is a cooler yellow-orange giant star.
This star is approximately 33.7 light years from Earth's Solar System, with a diamerter 8.3 that of the sun Earth, also known as the Earth, Terra, and (mostly in the 19th century) Tellus, is the third planet outward from the Sun. ... Presentation of the Solar system (not to scale). ...
Pollux is a solitary star, located some 35 light years from us, and is a typical aging orange giant star which has swollen in it's final years to span eleven times the diameter of our sun.
Interestingly, Pollux is located at almost the same distance from us as the familiar Arcturus now visible in the east; Pollux appears fainter to us as Arcturus is of twice the actual light output, a rare chance to compare stars of a similar type at an equal distance.
An eighth magnitude star in the telescopic field with Zeta is merely aligned by accident; the stars are in fact nowhere near one another in distance.
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