Gemini the celestial twins

A look at the stars that make up the constellation of Gemini, including Castor, a tight binary, and Pollux, an orange giant

The evening star, Venus, reaches its peak brilliance at magnitude -4.6 this week. Obvious in Britain's SW sky at nightfall, it sets in the W at 21:30. Mars, to its left and higher and now pulling away, is a good deal fainter at mag 1.2.