Gemini: The Cosmic Twins Who've Slipped on Time's Banana Peel

Ah, Gemini! The social butterfly of the zodiac, the cosmic chatterbox, the sign of duality, charm, and wild curiosity.

Gemini is most easily recognized by its two brightest stars, which represent twins, the mythological duo from ancient Greek lore. Think of them as the original dynamic duo—kind of like Batman and Robin, but with more divine parent issues and fewer gadgets.

If you go stargazing in winter (especially around January and February in the Northern Hemisphere), look high in the sky to the east after sunset. You’ll see a string of stars that looks like two stick figures standing shoulder-to-shoulder. Those are our boys, the Gemini twins, side by side forever. Cute, right?

This constellation frequently shows up on our Star Maps. Very distinctive, but I digress.

Wait... Isn't Gemini a Summer Sign?

Okay, so if Gemini is supposed to be “born” between late May and late June, why are we spotting the Gemini constellation in the winter sky?
Enter: Axial precession, aka the slow-motion cosmic wobble of Earth’s rotational axis.

Yep. Our lovely planet doesn’t spin perfectly straight like a top. It kind of wobbles, like a kid trying to ice skate for the first time. Over thousands of years (about 26,000 to complete one full wobble), this precession slowly changes where the stars appear in our sky at different times of the year.

So thousands of years ago, when the zodiac signs were first mapped out by ancient astrologers, the Sun was passing through Gemini during late May and June. But now? Thanks to axial precession, the Sun actually passes through Gemini from about mid-June to mid-July—a few weeks later than the zodiac calendar would have you believe.

It's like the entire zodiac has been sneakily sliding out of alignment over millennia. Time is a trickster, friends.

So, if you thought you were a Gemini because your birthday is in June—astrologically, yes. Astronomically? Eh, maybe not anymore. Blame the wobble.

𝗤. What are the names of Gemini’s 2 brightest stars?
a) Acrab & Izar
b) Betelgeuse & Maia
c) Castor & Pollux
d) Deneb & Shama

Take your best guess, and let me know what you think!

The first 10 correct answers sent to support@underluckystars.com will get a FREE Digital Star Map

Wishing you clear skies and cosmic dreams