Pollux

stars · Gemini constellation · red giant

Orange giant star. Pollux shines with a beautiful orange hue because it is a red giant, a type of star that has grown old and expanded to enormous size. It is much larger and cooler than our Sun, but still incredibly bright.

Close neighbor to Earth. At just 34 light-years away, Pollux is the nearest red giant star to our Sun. That means the light we see from Pollux today started its journey toward Earth before your great-grandparents were born.

Star measuring stick. Since 1943, scientists have used Pollux as a reference point to classify and measure other stars in the galaxy. It is so stable and well-known that other stars are compared to it, making it one of astronomy's most important anchor points.

Orbiting exoplanet. In 2006, astronomers discovered that a planet circles around Pollux, similar to how Earth orbits the Sun. This was one of the early discoveries that proved other stars have planets too.

Twin constellation. Pollux is the brightest star in Gemini, the constellation named after the mythical twins Castor and Pollux from ancient stories. Its twin, Castor, is the second brightest star in the same constellation.