''Aries ''' is one of the constellations of the zodiac. It is located in the northern celestial hemisphere between constellation Pisces to the west and constellation Taurus to the east. The name Aries is Latin for ram, and its symbol is ♈, representing a ram's horns. It is one of the 48 constellations described by the 2nd century astronomer Ptolemy, and remains one of the 88 modern constellations. It is a mid-sized constellation, ranking 39th overall size, with an area of 441 square degrees (1.1% of the celestial sphere). Both ancient Greeks and Babylonians saw Aries as a ram. Before that, the stars of Aries formed a farmhand. Different cultures have incorporated the stars of Aries into different constellations including twin inspectors in China and a porpoise in the Marshall Islands. Aries is a relatively dim constellation, possessing only four bright stars: Hamal (Alpha Arietis, second magnitude), Sheratan (Beta Arietis, third magnitude), Mesarthim (Gamma Arietis, fourth magnitude), and 41 Arietis (also fourth magnitude). The few deep-sky objects within the constellation are quite faint and include several pairs of interacting galaxies. Several meteor showers appear to radiate from Aries, including the Daytime Arietids and the Epsilon Arietids.
In Hebrew astronomy Aries was named "''Teli''"; it signified either Tribe of Simeon or Tribe of Gad, and generally symbolizes the "Lamb of the World". It appears the constellations were created with prophetic meanings, as is apparent with this constellation. Ancient Hebrews knew of these meanings. Accoring to the Legends of the Jews, Abraham taught astrology to the ancient Egyptians, who later modified the meanings with their own made up stories involving their gods, followed by other ancient civilizations.
Stars
Aries has three prominent stars forming an Asterism, designated Alpha, Beta, and Gamma Arietis. All three are commonly used for navigation.
There is also one other star above the fourth magnitude, 41 Arietis, called Hamal, is the brightest star in Aries. Its traditional name is derived from the Arabic word for "lamb" or "head of the ram" (''ras al-hamal''). It is an orange giant which lies 66 light-years from Earth.
Beta Arietis, also known as Sheratan, is a blue-white star. Its traditional name is derived from "''sharatayn''", the Arabic word for "the two signs", referring to both Beta and Gamma Arietis in their position as heralds of the vernal equinox. The two stars were known to the Bedouin as "''qarna al-hamal''", "horns of the ram". It is 59 light-years from Earth. It is a spectroscopic binary star, one in which the companion star is only known through analysis of the spectra.
Gamma Arietis|γ Arietis, with a common name of Mesarthim, is a binary star with two white-hued components, located in a rich field of magnitude 8–12 stars. Its traditional name has conflicting derivations. It may be derived from a corruption of "al-sharatan", the Arabic word meaning "pair" or a word for "fat ram". However, it may also come from the Sanskrit for "first star of Aries" or the Hebrew for "ministerial servants", both of which are unusual languages of origin for star names. Along with Beta Arietis, it was known to the Bedouin as "''qarna al-hamal''". The system is 164 light-years from Earth.
The constellation is home to several double stars, including Epsilon, Lambda, and Pi Arietis. Epsilon Arietis|ε Arietis is a binary star with two white components. Lambda Arietis is a wide double star with a white-hued primary and a yellow-hued secondary. Pi Arietis|π Arietis is a close binary star with a blue-white primary and a white secondary.
Most of the other stars in Aries visible to the naked eye have magnitudes between 3 and 5. Those include Delta Arietis, called Boteïn, Zeta Arietis, 14 Arietis, 39 Arietis, 35 Arietis, 41 Arietis, known both as c Arietis and Nair al Butain, 53 Arietis, and Teegarden's Star which is the closest star to Earth in Aries.
Aries has its share of variable stars, including R and U Arietis, Mira-type variable stars, and T Arietis, a semi-regular variable star.
Deep-sky objects
The few deep-sky objects in Aries are very dim. Nevertheless, several scientifically interesting galaxies lie within its borders; it has spiral, elliptical, and interacting galaxies.
Meteor showers
Aries is home to several meteor showers. The Daytime Arietid, Daytime Epsilon Arietids, Delta Arietids, Autumn Arietids, Epsilon Arietids, October Delta Arietids, Daytime May Arietids, Sigma Arietids, Nu Arietids, and Beta Arietids.
Planetary systems
Aries contains several stars with extrasolar planets. HIP 14810, a G5 type star, is orbited by three giant planets.
HD 12661, like HIP 14810, is a G-type main sequence star, slightly larger than the Sun, with two orbiting planets. One planet is 2.3 times the mass of Jupiter, and the other is 1.57 times the mass of Jupiter.
HD 20367 is a G0 type star, approximately the size of the Sun, with one orbiting planet. The planet, discovered in 2002, has a mass 1.07 times that of Jupiter and orbits every 500 days.
Adapted from https://wikipedia.org/aries under Creative Commons License