Lucky Stars Plush Buddy Keychain

The astronomy: Hamal is an orange giant about 66 light-years from Earth. In 2011, astronomers found a giant planet orbiting it, making Hamal one of the few zodiac stars known to host a world of its own.

The mythology: Aries is the golden ram of Greek myth, who flew two royal children to safety. Its golden fleece later sent Jason and the Argonauts on their legendary quest.

The name: Hamal comes from Arabic for "the lamb" or "the sheep," shortened from a longer phrase meaning "head of the ram."

For birthdays from about March 21 to April 19

The astronomy: Aldebaran is an orange giant about 65 light-years away and roughly 44 times wider than our Sun. It's one of the brightest stars in the night sky, and it marks the bull's glowing red eye.

The mythology: In Greek myth, Zeus disguised himself as a beautiful white bull to win the heart of the princess Europa, then carried her across the sea to Crete.

The name: Aldebaran comes from Arabic for "the follower," because it rises after, and seems to chase, the Pleiades star cluster across the sky.

For birthdays from about April 20 to May 20

The astronomy: Pollux, the brighter twin, is an orange giant about 34 light-years away with a giant planet in orbit. Castor, about 51 light-years away, looks like one star but is actually a system of six stars bound together.

The mythology: In Greek myth, Castor and Pollux were twin brothers. Castor was mortal and Pollux was immortal, and when Castor died, Pollux asked to share his immortality so they could stay together forever in the stars.

The name: The stars carry the twins' own names. Pollux is the Roman form of the Greek Polydeuces.

For birthdays from about May 21 to June 20

The astronomy: Al Tarf is an orange giant about 290 light-years away. Cancer is the faintest of the zodiac constellations, but it hides a treasure: the Beehive Cluster, a swarm of hundreds of stars you can spot with binoculars.

The mythology: In Greek myth, the goddess Hera sent a giant crab to distract Heracles as he battled the many-headed Hydra. The crab was crushed, but Hera honored its loyalty with a place among the stars.

The name: Al Tarf comes from Arabic and is usually translated as "the end" or "the eye," from an old star picture in which these stars formed part of a lion.

For birthdays from about June 21 to July 22

The astronomy: Regulus is a hot blue-white star about 79 light-years away. It spins so fast, about once every 16 hours, that it bulges at its middle and would fly apart if it spun much faster.

The mythology: Leo is the Nemean Lion of Greek myth, a beast whose golden hide no weapon could pierce. Defeating it was the first of Heracles' twelve labors.

The name: Regulus is Latin for "little king," a name popularized by Copernicus. Long before that, the star was called the lion's heart, and many ancient cultures counted it among the royal stars.

For birthdays from about July 23 to August 22

The astronomy: Spica is a pair of hot blue stars about 250 light-years away, orbiting so close together that each is stretched into an egg shape. Around 130 BCE, the Greek astronomer Hipparchus used Spica to discover that Earth slowly wobbles on its axis.

The mythology: Virgo is often linked with Demeter, goddess of the harvest, or her daughter Persephone, whose yearly return from the underworld brings spring. Virgo is the largest zodiac constellation in the sky.

The name: Spica is Latin for "ear of grain," the bundle of wheat the maiden holds in her hand.

For birthdays from about August 23 to September 22

The astronomy: Zubenelgenubi is a double star about 75 light-years away. It sits almost exactly on the ecliptic, the Sun's yearly path across the sky, so the Moon and planets often pass close by it.

The mythology: Libra is the only zodiac sign that isn't a living creature. Its scales are often linked with Astraea, the Greek goddess of justice, who weighed fairness and truth.

The name: Zubenelgenubi comes from Arabic for "the southern claw." Long ago, Libra's stars were seen as the claws of the neighboring scorpion, and the old name stuck.

For birthdays from about September 23 to October 22

The astronomy: Antares is a red supergiant about 550 light-years away and roughly 700 times wider than our Sun. If it sat where the Sun does, it would swallow the orbit of Mars.

The mythology: In Greek myth, a scorpion was sent to defeat the boastful hunter Orion. The two were placed on opposite sides of the sky, so as Scorpius rises, Orion sets, and they're never seen together.

The name: Antares means "rival of Ares" (Mars) in Greek, because its fiery red color rivals the Red Planet's.

For birthdays from about October 23 to November 21

The astronomy: Nunki is a hot blue-white star about 230 light-years away, and the second-brightest star in Sagittarius. It forms part of the handle of the Teapot, a star pattern that points toward the center of our Milky Way galaxy.

The mythology: Sagittarius is the archer, often pictured as a centaur with his arrow aimed at Antares, the red heart of the neighboring scorpion.

The name: Nunki is one of the oldest star names still in use. It traces back to ancient Babylonian astronomy, thousands of years before the Greek and Arabic names most stars carry today.

For birthdays from about November 22 to December 21

The astronomy: Deneb Algedi is about 39 light-years away, close by cosmic standards. It's actually a pair of stars, and every 25 hours or so one passes in front of the other, making the star dim slightly.

The mythology: Capricornus is the sea-goat, half goat and half fish. In Greek myth, the god Pan leapt into a river to escape the monster Typhon and turned half fish as he dove. The sea-goat image is even older, dating back to ancient Babylon.

The name: Deneb Algedi comes from Arabic for "the tail of the goat."

For birthdays from about December 22 to January 19.

The astronomy: Skat is a white star about 160 light-years away. Every summer, the Delta Aquariid meteor shower appears to stream out of the sky near Skat, peaking in late July.

The mythology: Aquarius is the Water Bearer, often linked with Ganymede, a young man the Greek gods brought to Mount Olympus to serve as their cupbearer.

The name: Skat comes from Arabic, usually translated as "the shin" or "the leg," marking where the star sits in the Water Bearer's figure.

For birthdays from about January 20 to February 18

The astronomy: Alpherg is a yellow giant about 350 light-years away. Pisces is a large but faint constellation, so Alpherg, its brightest star, is a modest gem best spotted from dark skies.

The mythology: In Greek myth, the goddess Aphrodite and her son Eros turned into fish and dove into a river to escape the monster Typhon. They tied themselves together with a cord so they'd never be separated, which is why Pisces is drawn as two fish linked by a ribbon.

The name: Alpherg comes from Arabic and is usually linked to the spout of a water bucket, from an old star picture of a bucket in this part of the sky.

For birthdays from about February 19 to March 20