Aries
Aries, Latin for Ram, is one of the constellations in the Northern celestial hemisphere as well as the zodiac. It is also one of the 48 constellations described by Claudius Ptolemy and remains one of the 88 modern constellations of today.
Aries is ranked 39th out of the 88 constellations for overall size.
Aries has always been represented as a ram though out the ages since late Babylonian times. It was represented by a farmhand before, but different constellations had incorporated the stars into different cultures. Aries has been picturised as a crouched wingless ram with his head turned back towards Taurus. Ptolemy stated that Hipparchus (Greek astronomer) depicted Alpha Arietis as the ram’s muzzle, but Ptolemy never included this in his figure, but instead listed it as an uninformed star.
Aries is a dim constellation for its size, only containing four bright stars.
Aries, Latin for Ram, is one of the constellations in the Northern celestial hemisphere as well as the zodiac. It is also one of the 48 constellations described by Claudius Ptolemy and remains one of the 88 modern constellations of today.
Aries is ranked 39th out of the 88 constellations for overall size.
Aries has always been represented as a ram though out the ages since late Babylonian times. It was represented by a farmhand before, but different constellations had incorporated the stars into different cultures. Aries has been picturised as a crouched wingless ram with his head turned back towards Taurus. Ptolemy stated that Hipparchus (Greek astronomer) depicted Alpha Arietis as the ram’s muzzle, but Ptolemy never included this in his figure, but instead listed it as an uninformed star.
Aries is a dim constellation for its size, only containing four bright stars.
Mythology
In Egyptian mythology, Amon-Ra was associated with Aries who was pictured as a man with a ram’s head which represented creativity and fertility. It was also known as the ‘indicator of the reborn sun’ (Staal 1988) due to its location in the vernal equinox. During times during the year, priests would have a procedure of moving the statues of Amon-Ra to temples. This was modified by Persian astronomers later. The Importance of the constellation in Egypt meant that Aries acquired the title ‘Lord of the Head’ meaning mythological importance. (Olcott 2004). In Hellenistic astrology, the golden ram of Greek mythology was associated with Aries. Aries rescued phrixus and Helle, which was ordered by Hermes who then took Phrixus to the land of Colchis (present-day Georgia, on the coast of the Black Sea). Aries was sent by Nephele to save Phrixus after he was taken for a sacrifice on Mount Laphstrium. The King’s second wife, Ino was jealous and falsified a message from the Oracle of Delphi which said Phrixos must be sacrificed to end the famine in Boeotia after she induced a famine there. Helle drowned after falling off Aries back in flight. Dardanelles (Located in North-western Turkey, known as the Strait of Gallipoli) the location of her death was honoured and named Hellespont. (Thompson & Thompson 2007) (Pasachoff 2000) (Moore & Tirion 1997). Medieval Muslim astronomers thought of Aries in a slightly different way. Al-Sufi saw the constellation as a ram however, certain Islamic celestial globes depicted Aries as a nondescript animal with antlers instead of horns (Savage-Smith & Belloli 1985). All Obsolete constellations of Aries are all centred around the same Northern stars, the obsolete constellations, namely Apes, Vespa, Lilium, and Musca were introduced through the 1600s by various astronomers. |
Deep Sky objects
NGC 772 – Spiral Galaxy
NGC 678 – Galaxy
NGC 680 – Galaxy
NGC 691 – Galaxy
NGC 877 – Galaxy
NGC 870 – Galaxy
NGC 871 – Galaxy
NGC 876 – Galaxy
NGC 877 – galaxy
NGC 821 – Elliptical Galaxy
Meteor showers
Bayer stars – 61
Stars with planets – 6
Stars brighter than 3.0 magnitude - 2
NGC 772 – Spiral Galaxy
NGC 678 – Galaxy
NGC 680 – Galaxy
NGC 691 – Galaxy
NGC 877 – Galaxy
NGC 870 – Galaxy
NGC 871 – Galaxy
NGC 876 – Galaxy
NGC 877 – galaxy
NGC 821 – Elliptical Galaxy
Meteor showers
- May Arietids
- Autumn Arietids
- Delta Arietids
- Epsilon Arietids
- Daytime-Arietids
- Aries-Triangulids
- Perseus
- Triangulum
- Pisces
- Cetus
- Taurus
Bayer stars – 61
Stars with planets – 6
Stars brighter than 3.0 magnitude - 2