How to find Gemini
When to look
December, January, February, March evenings
Face east, then high
Two bright stars side by side, Castor and Pollux, with two lines of fainter stars running down from them toward Orion. Winter and early spring evenings: east after dark in December, high overhead in February. The drawing below is made from the real positions of its 6 stars, as the sky looks when you face it, with bigger dots for brighter stars. No telescope needed.
Gemini has two bright stars next to each other, called Castor and Pollux. The Geminid shooting stars in December come from here.
Look east on December evenings for two bright stars close together: Castor and Pollux. Lines of fainter stars run from each toward Orion. In mid-December, the Geminid meteors seem to stream out from near Castor.
Pollux is an orange giant about 34 light-years away and is slightly brighter; Castor looks single but is a family of six stars in three pairs. The Geminids' radiant sits near Castor, which is why the shower carries the constellation's name.
The stars in it
Castor, Pollux, Alhena, Mebsuta, Tejat, Wasat. The brightest is Pollux.
How to find it
- Go out after dark with a grown-up, and give your eyes ten minutes away from screens.
- Face east, then high and look for: two bright stars side by side, Castor and Pollux, with two lines of fainter stars running down from them toward Orion.
- Hold up this page's drawing or the printed card and match the shape to the sky. If the sky is clear.
More star patterns
“Star patterns turn through the night, so the shape may be tipped on its side. Turn your head, not the sky.”