Epsilon Geminorum is a star

Star

A star is a massive, luminous sphere of plasma held together by gravity. At the end of its lifetime, a star can also contain a proportion of degenerate matter. The nearest star to Earth is the Sun, which is the source of most of the energy on Earth...

 in the constellation

Constellation

In modern astronomy, a constellation is an internationally defined area of the celestial sphere. These areas are grouped around asterisms, patterns formed by prominent stars within apparent proximity to one another on Earth's night sky....

 of Gemini

Gemini (constellation)

Gemini is one of the constellations of the zodiac. It was one of the 48 constellations described by the 2nd century astronomer Ptolemy and it remains one of the 88 modern constellations today. Its name is Latin for "twins", and it is associated with the twins Castor and Pollux in Greek mythology...

. It has the traditional name Mebsuta (also Melboula or Melucta).

The name Mebsuta has its roots in ancient Arabic

Arabic language

Arabic is a name applied to the descendants of the Classical Arabic language of the 6th century AD, used most prominently in the Quran, the Islamic Holy Book...

, where it and the star Mekbuda (Zeta Geminorum

Zeta Geminorum

Zeta Geminorum is a star in the constellation Gemini. It has the traditional name Mekbuda.The name Mekbuda has roots in ancient Arabic where it and the star Mebsuta were the paws of a lion...

) were the paws of a lion. Mebsuta comes from a phrase referring to the outstretched paw.

In Chinese

Chinese language

The Chinese language is a language or language family consisting of varieties which are mutually intelligible to varying degrees. Originally the indigenous languages spoken by the Han Chinese in China, it forms one of the branches of Sino-Tibetan family of languages...

, , meaning Well

Well (Chinese constellation)

The Well mansion is one of the Twenty-eight mansions of the Chinese constellations. It is one of the southern mansions of the Vermilion Bird.-Asterisms:...

 (asterism), refers to an asterism consisting of ε Geminorum, μ Geminorum

Mu Geminorum

Mu Geminorum is a star in the constellation Gemini, approximately 230 light years away from Earth. It has the traditional name Tejat Posterior, which means back foot, because it is the foot of Castor, one of the Gemini twins...

, ν Geminorum, γ Geminorum

Gamma Geminorum

Gamma Geminorum is the second brightest star in the constellation Gemini. It has the traditional names Alhena and Almeisan....

, ξ Geminorum

Xi Geminorum

Xi Geminorum is a star in the constellation Gemini. It has the traditional name Alzirr, meaning "the button" in Arabic.This star, along with γ Gem , μ Gem , ν Gem and η Gem were Al Han'ah, "the brand"...

, 36 Geminorum, ζ Geminorum

Zeta Geminorum

Zeta Geminorum is a star in the constellation Gemini. It has the traditional name Mekbuda.The name Mekbuda has roots in ancient Arabic where it and the star Mebsuta were the paws of a lion...

 and λ Geminorum

Lambda Geminorum

Lambda Geminorum is a Class A3, fourth-magnitude star in the constellation Gemini. Lambda Geminorum is a variable star located about 95 light-years from Earth....

. Consequently, ε Geminorum itself is known as

Properties

It is located on the outstretched right "leg" of the twin Castor

Castor (star)

Castor is the second brightest star in the constellation Gemini and one of the brightest stars in the night sky. Although it has the Bayer designation "alpha", it is actually fainter than Beta Geminorum...

. It has an apparent magnitude

Apparent magnitude

The apparent magnitude of a celestial body is a measure of its brightness as seen by an observer on Earth, adjusted to the value it would have in the absence of the atmosphere...

 of +3.06. It is approximately 900 ly from earth, and is a supergiant

Supergiant

Supergiants are among the most massive stars. They occupy the top region of the Hertzsprung-Russell diagram. In the Yerkes spectral classification, supergiants are class Ia or Ib . They typically have bolometric absolute magnitudes between -5 and -12...

 of spectral class

Stellar classification

In astronomy, stellar classification is a classification of stars based on their spectral characteristics. The spectral class of a star is a designated class of a star describing the ionization of its chromosphere, what atomic excitations are most prominent in the light, giving an objective measure...

 G5, with a diameter approximately 150 times that of the Sun

Sun

The Sun is the star at the center of the Solar System. It is almost perfectly spherical and consists of hot plasma interwoven with magnetic fields...

.

Because Epsilon Geminorum is near the ecliptic

Ecliptic

The ecliptic is the plane of the earth's orbit around the sun. In more accurate terms, it is the intersection of the celestial sphere with the ecliptic plane, which is the geometric plane containing the mean orbit of the Earth around the Sun...

 it can be occulted

Occultation

An occultation is an event that occurs when one object is hidden by another object that passes between it and the observer. The word is used in astronomy . It can also refer to any situation wherein an object in the foreground blocks from view an object in the background...

 by the Moon

Moon

The Moon is Earth's only known natural satellite,There are a number of near-Earth asteroids including 3753 Cruithne that are co-orbital with Earth: their orbits bring them close to Earth for periods of time but then alter in the long term . These are quasi-satellites and not true moons. For more...

 and, rarely, by a planet

Planet

A planet is a celestial body orbiting a star or stellar remnant that is massive enough to be rounded by its own gravity, is not massive enough to cause thermonuclear fusion, and has cleared its neighbouring region of planetesimals.The term planet is ancient, with ties to history, science,...

. The last occlusion by a planet took place on 8 April 1976 by Mars

Mars

Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun in the Solar System. The planet is named after the Roman god of war, Mars. It is often described as the "Red Planet", as the iron oxide prevalent on its surface gives it a reddish appearance...

 and before that on 10 June 1940 by Mercury

Mercury (planet)

Mercury is the innermost and smallest planet in the Solar System, orbiting the Sun once every 87.969 Earth days. The orbit of Mercury has the highest eccentricity of all the Solar System planets, and it has the smallest axial tilt. It completes three rotations about its axis for every two orbits...

.

Namesakes

USS Melucta (AK-131)

USS Melucta (AK-131)

USS Melucta was an commissioned by the U.S. Navy for service in World War II, named after Melucta, the star in constellation Gemini. She was responsible for delivering troops, goods and equipment to locations in the war zone....

 was a United States Navy

United States Navy

The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...

 Crater class cargo ship

Crater class cargo ship

Crater-class cargo ship is a category of freighter that was constructed for use by the United States Navy during World War II under Maritime Commission EC2-S-C1 type....

named after the star.