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Pollux

 

            The star Pollux, also known as Beta Geminorum or Hercules, is 33. It is the closest giant star to the Earth. This star positioned on the head of the Southern Twin, the mortal twin, Castor. Pollux is the brightest star in the constellation Gemini, Castor, the other Gemini star. The northernmost of the zodical constellations, Gemini is also among the brightest, helped by first magnitude Pollux and second magnitude Castor. The name Pollux is Latin meaning immortal twin. Both together were called the heavenly twins. In fact, Pollux and Castor are nothing like twins, Castor a white quadruple star with fairly hot components and Pollux an orange-colored cool giant, the nice pairing with Castor making Pollux's color brighter. According to Greek mythology their mother was Leda. Pollux was the result of the famous Leda and the Swan affair, when Zeus (the Roman Jupiter) disguised as a swan seduced Leda. Pollux is immortal, like his father. Castor on the other hand was mortal. Though some authors say Zeus was his father too, others site Tyndareus, who had relations with Leda the same night. And rather than twins, Leda bore quadruplets. Pollux and Helen, the famous Helen of Troy were fathered by Zeus; while Castor and Clytemnestra were the mortal offspring of Tyndareus. In Greek, he was known as Polydeuces. Pollux is an orange giant star having luminosity 30 times more than the sun. It is the 16th brightiest star in the sky and is also 35 times bright than our sun. It appears orange, which means it's cooler than the yellow Sun. That's because Pollux has expanded from its original size, and when a gas expands, it cools. In theory, the KO status of Pollux tells astronomers that it burns with a brilliant orange colour. Pollux emits X-rays and seems to have a hot, outer, magnetically supports corona perhaps similar to that surrounding our Sun. The surface temperature on the star is 4250°C and creates orange-yellow light.


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