dipper@utastro.UUCP (Debbie Byrd) (03/30/85)
Tonight the moon is near the two brightest stars in Gemini, the twins. More on Castor and Pollux -- when we come back. March 30 Yin and Yang, Castor and Pollux If you look outside, you'll see the moon near two bright stars tonight. The two stars are Castor and Pollux in the constellation Gemini. They represent twin brothers in Greek and Roman mythology. The brothers were said to be inseparable -- and were placed in the heavens as a reward for their brotherly love. In Chinese cultures, these same two stars were known as Yin and Yang, the two opposite elements of the universe. Yin and Yang are said to be meaningless when separated. But together they reveal the basic duality of the world -- male and female, day and night, dark and light, good and evil, and so on. The stars of Yin and Yang -- better known to us as Castor and Pollux -- are easy to find because they're both pretty bright -- and near each other on the dome of the sky. Tonight the moon will be near them as well. Pollux -- which shines with a golden glow -- lies about 35 light years away from our sun. Castor is about 45 light years away. Though Castor appears fainter, it's an interesting star -- or rather, stars. The point of light that we call Castor is actually six stars in all -- three pairs of double stars -- all gravitationally connected. The two largest pairs of revolving double stars are separated by about the distance across our solar system -- while the third pair moves around the other two at about ten times that distance! So that's the twin stars -- Castor and Pollux -- near the moon tonight. Script by Deborah Byrd and Diana Hadley. (c) Copyright 1984, 1985 McDonald Observatory, University of Texas at Austin