Pollux is the brightest star in Gemini, an orange giant and the nearest giant star to the Sun, with a planet larger than Jupiter in orbit around it.
At a glance
| type | orange star (class K) |
|---|---|
| distance from the Sun | 33.7 light-years (10.3 pc) |
| its light left it | 33.7 years ago |
| luminosity | 32.7 × the Sun |
| radius | 8.8 × the Sun |
| surface temperature | 4,670 K |
| constellation | Gemini (Twins) |
Read off the piece’s own catalogue, the same values it draws with.
About Pollux
Pollux is a star that has finished burning hydrogen in its core and has swollen into a giant, larger and much more luminous than the Sun but cooler at the surface, which is why it is orange. It is brighter than its twin in the sky, Castor, although Castor carries the constellation’s alpha designation.
A planet was found orbiting it by the regular shift it causes in the star’s spectrum: a giant planet more massive than Jupiter, since named Thestias. Pollux is one of the few bright naked-eye stars known to have a planet.
What you see in the piece
With HUMAN EYE on, Pollux and Castor are the twin heads of Gemini, Pollux the warmer and more golden of the two. Fly to Pollux and its catalogued planet, Thestias, circles it; fly out and the twins separate in depth, Castor lying farther away.
Questions
Is Pollux a giant star?
Yes. Pollux is an orange star (class K) that has swollen to a radius of 8.8 × the Sun and a luminosity of 32.7 × the Sun.