Page:Star Lore Of All Ages, 1911.pdf/292

208 the sailor alone whose fancy is pleased with the kindly vigil they seem to keep. A landsman, too, may have pleasanter dreams if he will but peep through the western window and exchange friendly glances with them before settling down for the night."

Pollux is now the brighter of the two stars, although three hundred years ago, Castor was probably the lucida of the constellation.

Castor is a beautiful star, in fact Sir John Herschel called it the largest and finest of all the double stars in our hemisphere. In a three-inch telescope with a power of ninety diameters, these twin suns present a charming appearance. This is a binary system, with a period somewhere between 250 and 1000 years. According to Allen this star is approaching the earth at the rate of 18.5 miles a second, while Pollux is receding from us at the rate of one mile each second.

Pollux is fifty-four light years distant, and is one of the stars much used in navigation in taking lunar observations. In astrology it was a fortunate star, portending eminence and renown.

The Twin Stars are 4½° apart and this distance was known to the Arabs as "the Ell," a measure of length. In reality Pollux is two hundred trillions of miles farther from us than Castor. There is only eleven minutes difference in the time of culmination of Castor and Pollux, so they may both be regarded as on the meridian at 9 , Feb. 24th.

γ and ξ Geminorum represented to the Arabs the brand made by a hot iron on the neck of a camel, also the star which shines with a sharp light.

δ Geminorum is a double star, known to the Arabs as "Wasat," meaning the "Middle," i. e., of the constellation, says Allen. The Chinese called it "Ta Tsun," the "Great Wine Jar." Just north of this star is the radiant point of the meteors known as "the Geminids," visible early in October.