In search of Castor and Pollux

Now in our tour of the Winter Circle or Hexagon, onward and, well, sideways. The next stop is actually two stars, Castor and Pollux, the "twin" stars in the constellation Gemini, the Twins.

The pair can be found by starting at our last stop, Capella in Auriga and extending a line right and slightly up for about 30 degrees (the distance of three clenched fists held at arms length).

The pair of stars stand on the bottom of an obvious rectangle of stars which form the constellation.

In a telescope, Castor -- the one on the left -- makes a fine double star for observation. His brother Pollux, however, is a six-star system but not all of them are visible in a backyard telescope.

If you want help remembering their names, Castor, the one on the left, is closest to Capella and Pollux on the right is the one closest to our next stop, Procyon.

If you found the three Messier objects in Auriga last week (M-36, M37, and M38) draw a line roughly through those three up and right toward the feet of Gemini for another super open star cluster, M35.

If you are still having trouble finding Gemini, look below and right of our old friend, Orion. The group will appear to be standing on their heads.

SKY WATCH: Third quarter moon, Feb. 5. Also that evening Mars can be found about three degrees below our good friend M44, the Beehive Star Cluster in the northeast. They will look nice in a binocular field of view. Sunday, Feb. 7, a slender crescent moon will be near Antares, the brightest star in Scorpius, the Scorpion. Look at about 4 a.m. Canberra almost overhead in the east.

NEXT TIME: Bright Procyon, the eighth brightest star in the evening sky, and one of only two stars in Canis Minor, the Little Dog, and more astronomical blathering.