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Aries

Constellation
List of stars in Aries
Abbreviation	Ari
Genitive	Arietis
Pronunciation	/ˈɛəriːz/, or formally /ˈɛərɪ.iːz/; genitive /əˈraɪ.ɨtɨs/
Symbolism	the Ram
Right ascension	3 h
Declination	+20°
Quadrant	NQ1
Area	441 sq. deg. (39th)
Main stars	3, 10
Bayer/Flamsteed stars	67
Stars with planets	6
Stars brighter than 3.00m	2
Stars within 10.00 pc (32.62 ly)	4
Brightest star	α Ari (Hamal) (2.01m)
Nearest star	Teegarden's Star (12.58 ly, 3.86 pc)
Messier objects	0
Meteor showers	May Arietids Autumn Arietids Delta Arietids Epsilon Arietids Daytime-Arietids Aries-Triangulids
Bordering constellations	Perseus Triangulum Pisces Cetus Taurus
Visible at latitudes between +90° and −60°. Best visible at 21:00 (9 p.m.) during the month of December.

Aries is one of the constellations of the zodiac, located between Pisces to the west and Taurus to the east. Its name is Latin for ram, and its symbol is (Unicode ♈), representing a ram's horns. Aries was one of the 48 constellations described by the 2nd century astronomer Ptolemy, and remains one of the 88 modern constellations today.

Notable features

The constellation Aries as it can be seen with the naked eye

Stars

• α Ari (Hamal) is the brightest star in Aries. Its traditional name is derived from the Arabic word for "lamb", which references Aries's mythological background. It is an orange giant with an apparent visual magnitude of 2.0. It is 66 light-years from Earth. Its spectral class is K2.

• β Ari (Sheratan) is a blue-white star with an apparent visual magnitude of 2.64. Its traditional name is derived from the Arabic word for "two". It is 60 light-years from Earth. Its spectral class is A5.

• γ Ari (Mesartim) is a binary star with two white components. The primary is of magnitude 4.6 and the secondary is of magnitude 4.7. The system is 204 light-years from Earth. The two components are separated by 7.8 arcseconds, and the system as a whole has an apparent magnitude of 3.9.

• ε Ari is a binary star with two white components. The primary is of magnitude 5.2 and the secondary is of magnitude 5.5. The system is 290 light-years from Earth.

• λ Ari is a wide binary star with a white primary and a yellow secondary. The primary is of magnitude 4.8 and the secondary is of magnitude 7.3. The primary is 133 light-years from Earth.

• π Ari is a close binary star with a blue-white primary and a white secondary. The primary is of magnitude 5.3 and the secondary is of magnitude 8.5. The primary is 600 light-years from Earth.

Deep-sky objects

The few deep-sky objects in Aries are very dim. They include the galaxies NGC 697 (northwest of β Ari), NGC 772 (southeast of β Ari), NGC 972 (in the constellation's northern corner), and NGC 1156 (northwest of δ Ari).

NGC 772 is a spiral galaxy with an integrated magnitude of 10, located southeast of β Arietis.

Visualizations

This section requires expansion.

Aries as depicted in Urania's Mirror, a set of constellation cards published in London c.1825

Ancient Greek astronomers visualized Aries as a ram lying down with its head turned to the right. The stars α, β and γ Arietis mark the ram’s head and horns, according to Ptolemy's Almagest.

History

In the description of the Babylonian zodiac given in the clay tablets known as the MUL.APIN, the constellation now known as Aries was the final station along the ecliptic. It was known as ^MULLÚ.ḪUN.GÁ, "The Agrarian Worker". The MUL.APIN is held to have been compiled in the 12th or 11th century BCE, but it reflects a tradition which takes the Pleiades as marking vernal equinox, which was the case with some precision at the beginning of the Middle Bronze Age (early 3rd millennium BCE).

In later Babylonian tradition, the name of the constellation changes to ^MULUDU.NITÁ "ram". The motive for the name change is unknown. John H. Rogers suggests that the "Agrarian Worker" became the "Ram" via association with the legendary figure of Dumuzi the Shepherd. Gavin White suggests that the sumerogram LÚ "man" may have come to be understood as Akkadian lu "sheep".

Aries only rose to its prominent position as the leading sign of the zodiac in the Neo-Babylonian (7th century BCE) revision of the Babylonian zodiac, as Hamal (α Ari) came to be located close to the point of vernal equinox.

In Hellenistic astrology, the constellation of Aries is associated with the golden ram of Greek mythology that rescued Phrixos on orders from Mercury, taking him to the land of Colchis. Phrixos sacrificed the ram to the gods and hung its skin in a temple, where it was known as the Golden Fleece. The Golden Fleece was then stolen by Jason and the Argonauts.

The First Point of Aries, the location of the vernal equinox, is named for the constellation. This is because the Sun crossed the celestial equator from south to north in Aries more than two millennia ago. Because of the precession of the equinoxes, the First Point of Aries has since moved into Pisces and will move into Aquarius by around 2600 C.E. The Sun now appears in Aries from late April through mid May.

Astrology

As of 2009, the Sun appears in the constellation Aries from April 19 to May 13. In tropical astrology, the Sun is considered to be in the sign Aries from March 21 to April 20, and in sidereal astrology, from April 15 to May 15.

Equivalents

In Chinese astronomy, the stars of Aries are located within the White Tiger of the West (西方白虎, Xī Fāng Bái Hǔ).

Namesakes

Three United States navy ships have been named after the constellation Aries: USS Aries (1863), USS Aries (AK-51) and USS Aries (PHM-5).

References

Citations

1. ^ ^{a b c d e f g h} Ridpath 2001, pp. 84-85
2. ^ ^{a b c d e f} Moore 1997, pp. 128-129
3. ^ John H. Rogers, "Origins of the ancient contellations: I. The Mesopotamian traditions", Journal of the British Astronomical Association 108 (1998) 9–28
4. ^ Babylonian Star-lore by Gavin White, Solaria Pubs, page 128
5. ^ ^{a b} Pasachoff, Jay M. (2006). Stars and Planets. Boston, Massachusetts: Houghton Mifflin. 
6. ^ "Astronomica", chapter 20, Hyginus, translation by Mary Grant

Bibliography

• Moore, Patrick; Tirion, Wil (1997), Cambridge Guide to Stars and Planets (2nd ed.), Cambridge University Press, ISBN 0-521-58582-1 
• H. A. Rey, The Stars—A New Way To See Them. Enlarged World-Wide Edition. Houghton Mifflin, Boston, 1997. ISBN 0-395-24830-2.
• Ridpath, Ian (2001), Stars and Planets Guide, Princeton University Press, ISBN 0-691-08913-2 

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Aries (constellation) (category)

• The Deep Photographic Guide to the Constellations: Aries
• NightSkyInfo.com: Constellation Aries
• Star Tales – Aries

v t e The Zodiac
Astrology | Signs of the Zodiac
Aries													Taurus													Gemini													Cancer													Leo													Virgo													Libra													Scorpio													Sagittarius													Capricorn													Aquarius													Pisces
Astronomy | Constellations of the Ecliptic
Aries												Taurus												Gemini												Cancer												Leo												Virgo												Libra												Scorpius												Ophiuchus												Sagittarius												Capricornus												Aquarius												Pisces
See also: Ecliptic coordinates Precession of the equinoxes 13-sign zodiac Zodiacal light

Coordinates: 03^h 00^m 00^s, +20° 00′ 00″