Gemini & Cassiopeia

Sometimes at night I prefer just to look at the sky with my own eye rather than using binoculars or my telescope. I am enjoying trying to learn the various constellations and identifying them in the night sky. Of course, as I begin to identify them I also want to try and capture them with my camera.

And so recently I decided to try and capture Gemini and Cassiopeia which are currently both visible from my back garden. Gemini in particular is quite nice due to Juptier currently sitting within its boundaries so of course I am going to start with it.

Gemini is one of the constellations of the Zodiac and was described in the 2nd century AD by the astronomer Ptolemy. It's name is the Latin for "twins" and it is associated with the twins Castor and Pollux in Greek mythology. In fact the two brightest stars in the constellation are actually named Castor and Pollox. Gemini lies between Taurus to the west and Cancer to the east, with Auriga and Lynx to the north and Monoceros and Canis Minor to the south. In fact you can actually just make out Cancer and Canis Minor in my image below to the left of Gemini.

The other constellation I imaged was Cassiopeia which is named after the vain queen Cassiopeia in Greek mythology, who boasted about her unrivalled beauty. Cassiopeia was also one of the 48 constellations listed by the 2nd-century Greek astronomer Ptolemy. It is easily recognizable due to its distinctive 'W' shape, formed by five bright stars. It is bordered by Andromeda to the south, Perseus to the southeast, and Cepheus to the north. In the image below you should hopefully be able to see it in the central lower area just above the cloud cover.