[3] The discovery of Pollux b was announced in 2006 by astronomer Artie P. Hatzes and co-authors using the radial velocity method.

[1] A planet orbiting Pollux had previously been hypothesized by Hatzes in 1993, though at that time it was thought more likely that the radial velocity variations were caused by intrinstic stellar variability.

[4] An independent study published shortly after the discovery paper supported the existence of Pollux b, but expressed some uncertainty, leaving a non-planetary explanation for the radial velocity variations a possibility.

[3] In July 2014 the International Astronomical Union launched NameExoWorlds, a process for giving proper names to certain exoplanets and their host stars.

[10] In December 2015, the IAU announced the winning name was Thestias for this planet.