Shape of Gemini Constellation in Three Dimensions | Space Telescope Science Institute

Shape of Gemini Constellation in Three Dimensions | Space Telescope Science Institute

This visualization reveals the stars of the Gemini constellation in three dimensions. Watch as the familiar pattern on the sky distorts into a whole new perspective.

The sequence begins with a night sky view, and the constellations Orion and Taurus just above the horizon. As the camera pans up, the constellation Gemini (The Twins) takes center stage with its brightest stars, Castor and Pollux, at the top. The constellation Auriga can be found in the lower right with its bright stars forming a pentagon shape. Above and a bit left of Gemini, the Beehive Cluster, in the constellation Cancer, is an open star cluster containing over 1,000 stars.

As the view begins to orbit, and the constellation distorts into 3D space, Castor and Pollux reveal themselves as the closest stars. Approaching a sideways view,  multiple star clusters pass below the right side of the constellation, including the Hyades cluster and the Pleiades (both in Taurus). The dark cloud of dust in that region is the Taurus Molecular Cloud, a star-forming region 430 light years from the Sun. The two most distant stars in the Gemini constellation are Mekbuda and Mebsuta, at 1,200 light years and 900 light years from the Sun, respectively. Note that the Beehive Cluster remains visible above the constellation during the entire spin.

This visualization features over 11 million stars down to a magnitude of 13.5 across the sky. The positions, colors, and luminosities are based on the Gaia and Hipparcos star catalogs, complemented by the HYG Database. This includes data from the Yale and Gliese catalogs. Interstellar dust is visualized using data from the Edenhofer et al map out to a distance of 1.25 kiloparsecs (~4,000 ly) from the Sun and from the Lallement et al data out to 3 kiloparsecs (~9,800 ly). The rest of the Milky Way plane is recreated using simulated spiral galaxy data for stars and dust from the Horizon GalMer database.

Credits: Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI)
Visualization: Christian Nieves, Frank Summers (STScI)
Motion Graphics: Ralf Crawford (STScI)
Duration: 1 minute, 54 seconds

Release Date: Oct. 1, 2025

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