Aries (constellation)

	Email		Print
	Bookmark		Link

Aries (constellation)

Aries is one of constellation

Constellation

A constellation is a group of stars that appear to have a physical proximity in the sky. The stars in a constellation are often vastly distant from each other, but they appear close to each other from the perspective of Earth....
s of the zodiac

Zodiac

Zodiac denotes an annual cycle of twelve stations along the ecliptic, the apparent path of the Sun across the heavens through the constellations that divide the ecliptic into twelve equal zones of celestial longitude....
, located between Pisces

Pisces (constellation)

Pisces is a constellation of the zodiac. Its name is the Latin plural for fish, and its symbol is . It lies between Aquarius to the west and Aries to the east....
to the west and Taurus

Taurus (constellation)

Taurus is one of the constellations of the zodiac. Its name is Latin for cattle, and its symbol is , a stylized bull's head. Taurus is a large and prominent constellation in the northern hemisphere's winter sky, between Aries to the west and Gemini to the east; to the north lie Perseus and Auriga , to the southeast Orion , to the south E...
to the east. Its name is Latin

Latin

Latin is an Italic language, historically spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. Through the Military history of the Roman Empire, Latin spread throughout the Mediterranean and a large part of Europe....
for ram

Sheep

#REDIRECT Domestic sheep...
, and its symbol is , representing a ram's horns.

See also: List of stars in Aries
List of stars in Aries

This is the list of notable stars in the constellation Aries , sorted by decreasing brightness.See also*List of stars by constellation...

Aries has none of the brightest stars, so a little patience and persistence is required to learn to locate it.

Discussion

Ask a question about 'Aries (constellation)'

Start a new discussion about 'Aries (constellation)'

Answer questions from other users

Full Discussion Forum

Encyclopedia

Aries is one of constellation

Constellation

Zodiac

Pisces (constellation)

Pisces is a constellation of the zodiac. Its name is the Latin plural for fish, and its symbol is . It lies between Aquarius to the west and Aries to the east....
to the west and Taurus

Taurus (constellation)

Latin

Sheep

#REDIRECT Domestic sheep...
, and its symbol is

, representing a ram's horns.

Notable features

Stars

See also: List of stars in Aries
List of stars in Aries

This is the list of notable stars in the constellation Aries , sorted by decreasing brightness.See also*List of stars by constellation...

Aries has none of the brightest stars, so a little patience and persistence is required to learn to locate it. Look to the east in the evening and find the dim clustered stars of the Pleiades and, below them, the companion cluster in a "V" shape, the Hyades. The bright reddish star at the end of the "V" is Aldebaron, brightest star in Taurus, the Bull. Let Aldebaron be the beginning of an arc and extend it on through the Pleiades (it is about one clenched fist at arm's length between Aldebaron and the Pleiades). Keep on going about 25 degrees (two clenched fists at arms length) where the two brightest stars of Aries, close together (two finger-widths at arms length apart), will form the West End of the arc. Notice the dimmer star located just beyond the second star of the pair in Aries; let this dim star form the very tip of the arc we have described. Now, back along the arc, about midway between the Pleiades and the brightest star of Aries, there is still another very dim star belonging to Aries. The four stars you have found, two of them considerably brighter than the others, are all there is to see of Aries without optical aid.

It is not the brightness of the stars of Aries that makes them worth knowing. They provide one of the twelve constellation sky-marks to help you know the zodiac, and it is the zodiac, after all that is essential if you are to know the apparent journeys of the Sun in our sky caused by the fact that we orbit the Sun. From mid-April until mid-May the Sun is drifting under the stars of Aries that we have just described. Thus, they are not visible during spring. We begin to pick them up in the early morning in summer and they rise in the evening during autumn. In late November they are high in the southeast at 8:00 p.m. and nearly overhead by 10:00 p.m. If you have trouble finding them, visit your local planetarium or contact your local astronomy club for a program about the current sky and ask the staff or club member to identify Aries. You could also ask one of these organizations for a chart of the sky to assist in finding Aries.

Deep sky objects

The few deep sky objects in Aries are very dim. They include the galaxies

Galaxy

A galaxy is a massive, gravitation system that consists of stars and stellar remnants, an interstellar medium of gas and cosmic dust, and an important but poorly-understood component tentatively dubbed dark matter....
NGC 697 (northwest of ß Ari), NGC 772 (southeast of ß Ari), NGC 972 (in the constellation's northern corner), and NGC 1156 (northwest of d Ari).

Visualizations

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 a Ari

Alpha Arietis

| name = Bayer designation}}Alpha Arietis , which also has the traditional names Hamal and El Nath, is the brightest star in the constellation Aries ....
, ? Ari

Lambda Arietis

Lambda Arietis is a binary star in the constellation Aries . It is approximately 133 light years from Earth.The primary component, ? Arietis A, is a yellow-white stellar classification main sequence with an apparent magnitude of +4.9....
, and ß Ari

Beta Arietis

Beta Arietis is a star in the constellation Aries , it is the Ram's second horn. It also has the traditional name Sharatan , and the Flamsteed designation 6 Arietis....
: a Ari being of the second magnitude and beta Arietis of the third magnitude.

The ram's body consists of the stars a Ari, ? Ari

Eta Arietis

Eta Arietis is a star in the constellation Aries .Eta Arietis is a white stellar classification main sequence with an apparent magnitude of +5.23. It is approximately 98.3 light years from Earth....
, e Ari

Epsilon Arietis

Epsilon Arietis is a Binary star in the constellation Aries . It is approximately 293 light years from Earth.The two brightest components, e Arietis A and B, are both white stellar classification main sequence with apparent magnitudes of 5.2 and 5.5 respectively....
, 41 Ari

41 Arietis

41 Arietis or c Arietis is a star in the constellation Aries . It also has the traditional name Bharani, named after the Bharani....
, and 35 Ari

35 Arietis

35 Arietis is a star in the constellation Aries . Its apparent magnitude is 4.65.Reference...
: e Ari and 41 Ari being of the fourth magnitude.

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

39 Arietis

39 Arietis is a star in the constellation Aries . Its apparent magnitude is +4.52.External links**...
.

The star ? Ari

Gamma Arietis

Gamma Arietis is a triple star system, 204 light years distant, in constellation Aries . It has the traditional name Mesartim or Mesarthim, of obscure origin, and has been called "the First Star in Aries" as having been at one time the nearest visible star to the equinoctial point....
, of fourth magnitude, represents the ram's front foot, and the star d Ari

Delta Arietis

Delta Arietis is a star in the constellation Aries . It also has the traditional name Botein which is derived from the Arabic language butain, dual of ??? batn meaning "belly"....
, also of fourth magnitude, represents the ram's hind foot.

Mythology

In Greek mythology

Greek mythology

Greek mythology is the body of myths and legends belonging to the Ancient Greece concerning their List of Greek mythological figures#Immortals and Greek hero cult, Cosmology#Metaphysical cosmology, and the origins and significance of their own cult and ritual practices....
, the constellation of Aries represents the golden ram that rescued Phrixos, taking him to the land of Colchis

Colchis

In ancient geography, Colchis or Kolkhis was an ancient Georgia , state monarchy and region in the Western Georgia , which played an important role in the ethnic and cultural formation of the Georgians and its subgroups....
. Phrixos sacrificed the ram to the gods and hung its skin in a temple, where it was known as the Golden Fleece

Golden Fleece

In Greek mythology, the Golden Fleece is the fleece of the winged ram Chrysomallos . It figures in the tale of Jason and his band of Argonauts, who set out on a quest for the fleece in order to place Jason rightfully on the throne of Iolcus in Thessaly....
.

Astrology

, the Sun appears in the constellation Aries from April 19 to May 13. In tropical astrology

Tropical Astrology

Tropical astrology is a type of astrology based on a zodiac whose points of reference are the tropics. The word tropic comes from the Greek for "turning point," and originally meant the point at which the sun at sunrise and sunset appears to turn, and to move north in the northern hemisphere and south in the southern hemisphere along the...
, the Sun is considered to be in the sign Aries

Aries (astrology)

Aries, the domestic sheep, is the first astrological sign in the Zodiac, originating from the Aries . In western astrology, this sign is no longer aligned with the constellation as a result of the Precession ....
from March 21 to April 20, and in sidereal astrology

Sidereal astrology

Sidereal astrology is the system of astrology used by some Western and all Jyotish astrology who base their interpretation around the use of the Sidereal time zodiac....
, from April 15 to May 15.