Aries (constellation)

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For other uses, see Aries (disambiguation).

Aries
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Abbreviation	Ari
Genitive	Arietis
Symbology	the Ram
Right ascension	3 h
Declination	+20°
Area	441 sq. deg. Ranked 39th
Number of stars (Bayer-Flamsteed)	65
Number of bright stars (magnitude < 3)	2
Number of nearby stars (Distance < 100 ly)	3
Brightest star	α Ari (Hamal) (App. magnitude 2.0)
Nearest Star	в Ari (Distance: (59.6 ly))
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 (IPA: /ˈɛːˌriːz/, Latin: ram, symbol Image:Aries.svg, Unicode ♈) is one of the constellations of the zodiac. It lies between Pisces to the west and Taurus to the east.

1 Notable features
2 Notable deep sky objects
3 Mythology
- 3.1 Astrology
4 Graphic visualization
- 4.1 Reference
5 Notable and named stars
6 See also
7 External links

[edit] Notable features

Aries' stars are rather faint except for α Ari (Hamal) and β Ari (Sharatan). Other important stars are γ Ari (Mesarthim) and δ Ari (Botein).

Teegarden's star, in Aries, is one of our sun's closest neighbours.

[edit] Notable deep sky objects

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

[edit] Mythology

When including fainter stars, visible to the naked eye, the area resembles the head of a ram, having a general herbivore head shape and a spiral horn.

In Greek mythology, this is believed to represent the ram which carried Athamas's son Phrixus and daughter Helle to Colchis to escape their stepmother Ino. Helle fell off into the sea which later became the Hellespont. On reaching safety, Phrixis sacrificed the ram and hung its fleece in the Grove of Ares, where it turned to gold and later became the quest of Jason and the Argonauts. It appears that Babylonians, Greeks, Persians and Egyptians all agreed on the name of the Ram for this constellation.

The main area of the sky constituting the sign of Aries, containing part of Pisces, the Pleiades, and the constellation of Andromeda, may be the origin of the myth of the girdle of Hippolyte, which forms part of The Twelve Labours of Hercules.

[edit] Astrology

Main article: Aries (astrology)

The Western astrological sign Aries of the tropical zodiac (March 21–April 19) differs from the astronomical constellation and the Hindu astrological sign of the sidereal zodiac (April 19 - May 13). The planet Mars is the ruler of the sign. The Sun is considered to be in its exaltation in Aries, while Saturn is considered to be in its fall (its weakest sign) and Venus is in its detriment. Astrologically, Aries is a Fire sign and represents bold action.

The part of the body the sign rules is the head.

[edit] Graphic visualization

Image:Aries constellation map visualization.PNG

The stars of the constellation Aries can be connected in an alternative way, which graphically shows the ram running (or jumping).

The ram's head consists of the stars alpha Arietis, lambda Arietis, and beta Arietis: alpha Arietis being of the second magnitude and beta Arietis of the third magnitude.

The ram's body consists of the stars alpha Arietis, eta Arietis, epsilon Arietis, 41 Arietis, and 35 Arietis: epsilon Arietis and 41 Arietis being of the fourth magnitude.

The ram's tail consists of the stars 35 Arietis, 41 Arietis, and 39 Arietis.

The star gamma Arietis, of fourth magnitude, represents the ram's front foot, and the star delta Arietis, also of fourth magnitude, represents the ram's hind foot.

[edit] Reference

H. A. Rey, The Stars — A New Way To See Them. Enlarged World-Wide Edition. Houghton Mifflin, Boston, 1997. ISBN 0-395-24830-2.

[edit] Notable and named stars

BD	F	Names and other designations	Mag.	Ly away	Comments
α	13	Alpha Arietis, Hamal, Hemal, Hamul, Ras Hammel, El Nath, Arietis	2.01	65.9	< رأس الحمل ra's[u] al-ħamal Head of the ram < النطح an-naţħ The butting (horn)
β	6	Beta Arietis, Sheratan, Sharatan, Al Sharatain	2.64	59.6	< الشراطان aš-šarāţān The (two) signs (originally β and γ Ari) (The name refers to Pisces and Aries, the first and last signs of the zodiac.)
c	41	41 Arietis, Bharani	3.61	159	< Vedic-Hindu for "the Nourishing One"
γ¹^,²	5	Gamma Arietis, Mesarthim, Mesartim	3.88	204	< "Ministerial Servants" or "the Fatted Ram" in Arabic, or it is Sanskrit for "the First Star in Aries" triple star system; component magnitudes: 4.75, 4.83, 9.6 γ² is an Alpha2 Canum Venaticorum type variable star
δ	56	Delta Arietis, Botein	4.35	168	< بطين al-buţayn The belly [diminutive]
	39	39 Arietis	4.52
ε	48	Epsilon Arietis	4.63	293	triple star system; component magnitudes: 5.2, 5.5, 12.7
	35	35 Arietis	4.65
λ	9	Lambda Arietis	4.79	133	binary star; component magnitudes: 4.9, 7.4
ζ	58	Zeta Arietis	4.87	340
	14	14 Arietis	4.98
κ	12	Kappa Arietis	5.03	187	spectroscopic binary
ι	8	Iota Arietis	5.09	660	spectroscopic binary
τ²	63	Tau2 Arietis	5.10	319
	38	38 Arietis	5.17
η	17	Eta Arietis	5.23	98.3
π	42	Pi Arietis	5.26	600	close spectroscopic binary
τ¹	61	Tau1 Arietis	5.27	462	eclipsing triple star system. Magnitude fluctuation: 5.26–5.32. Component magnitudes: 5.4, 7.9, 8.4
	33	33 Arietis	5.30
ν	32	Nu Arietis	5.45	347
	52	52 Arietis	5.45		binary star; component magnitudes: 6.8, 7.0
ξ	24	Xi Arietis	5.48	600
	64	64 Arietis	5.50
σ	43	Sigma Arietis	5.52	480
	62	62 Arietis	5.55
	21	21 Arietis	5.57
θ	22	Theta Arietis	5.58	387
ρ³	46	Rho-3 Arietis, Rho Arietis	5.58	115
	10	10 Arietis	5.64
	31	31 Arietis	5.64
	15	15 Arietis	5.68
	19	19 Arietis	5.72
μ	34	Mu Arietis	5.74	338
	55	55 Arietis	5.74
ρ²	45	Rho-2 Arietis, RZ Arietis	5.76	404	semiregular variable
	7	7 Arietis	5.76
ο	37	Omicron Arietis	5.78	482
	56	56 Arietis	5.78
	20	20 Arietis	5.79
	47	47 Arietis	5.80
	1	1 Arietis	5.83		binary star; component magnitudes 6.2, 7.3.
	40	40 Arietis	5.83
	4	4 Arietis	5.86
	49	49 Arietis	5.91
	59	59 Arietis	5.91
	29	20 Arietis	6.00
	11	11 Arietis	6.01
	16	16 Arietis	6.01
	30	30 Arietis	6.01		binary star; component magnitudes: 6.51, 7.09
	66	66 Arietis	6.03
	65	65 Arietis	6.07
	53	53 Arietis	6.13
	26	26 Arietis	6.14
	60	60 Arietis	6.14
	27	27 Arietis	6.21
	54	54 Arietis	6.24
	36	36 Arietis	6.40
		HD 20367	6.41	88.4	has a planet
	25	25 Arietis	6.45
	3	3 Arietis	6.55
	51	51 Arietis	6.62
ρ¹	44	Rho-1 Arietis	7.10
		HD 12661	7.44	121	has two planets
		BD+20°307	9.01	300
		TZ Arietis	12.1	14.5	flare star
		Teegarden's star, SO025300.5+165258	15.4	12.6	nearby high proper motion