NationMaster - Encyclopedia: Pollux (star)

Pollux (β Gem / β Geminorum / Beta Geminorum) is one of the brightest star in the constellation Gemini 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 Î²) 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 (Î± Gem / Î± 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). ...

Some facts about Pollux

Categories: Star stubs | Bayer objects | Gemini constellation | Orange giants In astronomy, stellar classification is a classification of stars based initially on photospheric temperature and its associated spectral characteristics, and subsequenly refined in terms of other characteristics. ... Radial velocity is the velocity of an object in the direction of the line of sight. ... The proper motion of a star is the motion of the position of the star in the sky (the change in direction in which we see it, as opposed to the radial velocity) after eliminating the improper motions of the stars, which affect their measured coordinates but are not real... The apparent magnitude (m) of a star, planet or other heavenly body is a measure of its apparent brightness; that is, the amount of light received from the object. ... In astronomy, absolute magnitude is the apparent magnitude, m, an object would have if it were at a standardized distance away. ... // In General Physics In general physics, luminosity (more properly called luminance) is the density of luminous intensity in a given direction. ...