Aries (constellation)

Coordinates: Sky map 03h 00m 00s, +20° 00′ 00″
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
This article is about the astronomical constellation. For the astrological sign, see Aries (astrology).
Not to be confused with the Greek God of War, Ares.

Aries
Constellation
Aries
List of stars in Aries
AbbreviationAri[1]
GenitiveArietis
Pronunciation/ˈɛəriːz/,
genitive
39th)
Main stars4, 9
Bayer/Flamsteed
stars		61
Stars with planets6
Stars brighter than 3.00m2
Stars within 10.00 pc (32.62 ly)2[a]
Brightest starHamal (α Ari) (2.01m)
Messier objects0
Meteor showers
  • May Arietids
  • Autumn Arietids
  • Delta Arietids
  • Epsilon Arietids
  • Daytime-Arietids
  • Aries-Triangulids
Bordering
constellations
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. It is located in the Northern celestial hemisphere between Pisces to the west and Taurus to the east. The name Aries is Latin for ram. Its old astronomical symbol is (♈︎). 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 in overall size, with an area of 441 square degrees (1.1% of the celestial sphere).

Aries has represented a ram since late Babylonian times. 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:

Daytime Arietids
and the Epsilon Arietids.

History and mythology

See also: Aries (astrology)

Aries is now recognized as an official constellation, albeit as a specific region of the sky, by the

Dumuzi the Shepherd. By the time the MUL.APIN was created—in 1000 BC—modern Aries was identified with both Dumuzi's ram and a hired labourer. The exact timing of this shift is difficult to determine due to the lack of images of Aries or other ram figures. [7]

In ancient Egyptian astronomy, Aries was associated with the god

Amun-Ra, who was depicted as a man with a ram's head and represented fertility and creativity. Because it was the location of the vernal equinox, it was called the "Indicator of the Reborn Sun".[8] During the times of the year when Aries was prominent, priests would process statues of Amon-Ra to temples, a practice that was modified by Persian astronomers centuries later. Aries acquired the title of "Lord of the Head" in Egypt, referring to its symbolic and mythological importance.[9]

Aries and Musca Borealis as depicted in Urania's Mirror, a set of constellation cards published in London c. 1825
Aries depicted in an early medieval manuscript, c. 1000

Aries was not fully accepted as a constellation until classical times.

Oracle of Delphi that said Phrixus must be sacrificed to end the famine. Athamas was about to sacrifice his son atop Mount Laphystium when Aries, sent by Nephele, arrived.[14] Helle fell off of Aries's back in flight and drowned in the Dardanelles, also called the Hellespont in her honour. [3][11] [13]

Historically, Aries has been depicted as a crouched, wingless ram with its head turned towards Taurus.

Alpha Arietis as the ram's muzzle, though Ptolemy did not include it in his constellation figure. Instead, it was listed as an "unformed star", and denoted as "the star over the head". John Flamsteed, in his Atlas Coelestis, followed Ptolemy's description by mapping it above the figure's head.[14][15] Flamsteed followed the general convention of maps by depicting Aries lying down.[8] Astrologically, Aries has been associated with the head and its humors.[16] It was strongly associated with Mars, both the planet and the god. It was considered to govern Western Europe and Syria and to indicate a strong temper in a person.[17]

The

precession of the equinoxes, the First Point of Aries has since moved into Pisces and will move into Aquarius by around 2600 AD. The Sun now appears in Aries from late April through mid-May, though the constellation is still associated with the beginning of spring.[12][14][18]

al-Sufi saw the constellation as a ram, modelled on the precedent of Ptolemy. However, some Islamic celestial globes depicted Aries as a nondescript four-legged animal with what may be antlers instead of horns.[19] Some early Bedouin observers saw a ram elsewhere in the sky; this constellation featured the Pleiades as the ram's tail.[20] The generally accepted Arabic formation of Aries consisted of thirteen stars in a figure along with five "unformed" stars, four of which were over the animal's hindquarters and one of which was the disputed star over Aries's head.[21] Al-Sufi's depiction differed from both other Arab astronomers' and Flamsteed's, in that his Aries was running and looking behind itself.[8]

The

Johann Hevelius renamed the constellation "Musca" in 1690 in his Firmamentum Sobiescianum. To differentiate it from Musca, the southern fly, it was later renamed Musca Borealis but it did not gain acceptance and its stars were ultimately officially reabsorbed into Aries.[22]

In 1922, the International Astronomical Union defined its recommended three-letter abbreviation, "Ari".

Eugène Delporte as a polygon of 12 segments. Its right ascension is between 1h 46.4m and 3h 29.4m and its declination is between 10.36° and 31.22° in the equatorial coordinate system.[23]

In non-Western astronomy

In traditional

16th lunar mansion, the location of the full moon closest to the autumnal equinox. [14] This constellation has also been associated with harvest-time as it could represent a woman carrying a basket of food on her head.[8] 35, 39, and 41 Arietis were part of a constellation called Wei (胃), which represented a fat abdomen and was the namesake of the 17th lunar mansion, which represented granaries. Delta and Zeta Arietis were a part of the constellation Tianyin (天陰), thought to represent the Emperor's hunting partner. Zuogeng (左更), a constellation depicting a marsh and pond inspector, was composed of Mu, Nu, Omicron, Pi, and Sigma Arietis.[8][14] He was accompanied by Yeou-kang, a constellation depicting an official in charge of pasture distribution.[8]

In a similar system to the Chinese, the first lunar mansion in

Marquesas islanders called it Na-pai-ka; the Māori constellation Pipiri may correspond to modern Aries as well.[25] In indigenous Peruvian astronomy, a constellation with most of the same stars as Aries existed. It was called the "Market Moon" and the "Kneeling Terrace", as a reminder of when to hold the annual harvest festival, Ayri Huay. [17]

Features

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

Stars

Further information: List of stars in Aries

Bright stars

Aries has three prominent stars forming an

apparent visual magnitude of 2.00, which lies 66 light-years from Earth.[12][28] Hamal has a luminosity of 96 L☉ and its absolute magnitude is −0.1.[29]

spectroscopic binary star, one in which the companion star is only known through analysis of the spectra.[32] The spectral class of the primary is A5.[13] Hermann Carl Vogel determined that Sheratan was a spectroscopic binary in 1903; its orbit was determined by Hans Ludendorff in 1907. It has since been studied for its eccentric orbit.[32]

emission lines.[32]

The constellation is home to several double stars, including Epsilon, Lambda, and Pi Arietis. ε Arietis 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.[12] Its overall magnitude is 4.63, and the primary has an absolute magnitude of 1.4. Its spectral class is A2. The two components are separated by 1.5 arcseconds.[29] λ Arietis is a wide double star with a white-hued primary and a yellow-hued secondary. The primary is of magnitude 4.8 and the secondary is of magnitude 7.3.[12] The primary is 129 light-years from Earth.[35] It has an absolute magnitude of 1.7 and a spectral class of F0.[29] The two components are separated by 36 arcseconds at an angle of 50°; the two stars are located 0.5° east of 7 Arietis.[3] π Arietis 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.[12] The primary is 776 light-years from Earth.[36] The primary itself is a wide double star with a separation of 25.2 arcseconds; the tertiary has a magnitude of 10.8. The primary and secondary are separated by 3.2 arcseconds.[29]

Most of the other stars in Aries visible to the naked eye have magnitudes between 3 and 5.

runaway star of magnitude 6.09, 815 light-years away.[32][43] Its spectral class is B2. It was likely ejected from the Orion Nebula approximately five million years ago, possibly due to supernovae.[32] Finally, Teegarden's Star is the closest star to Earth in Aries. It is a red dwarf of magnitude 15.14 and spectral class M6.5V. With a proper motion of 5.1 arcseconds per year, it is the 24th closest star to Earth overall.[4]

Variable stars

Aries has its share of variable stars, including R and U Arietis, Mira-type variable stars, and T Arietis, a semi-regular variable star.

General Catalog of Variable Stars.[46]

Deep sky objects

NGC 772, with a notated supernova

Arp peculiar galaxy catalog. NGC 772 has a diameter of 240,000 light-years and the system is 114 million light-years from Earth.[47] Another spiral galaxy in Aries is NGC 673, a face-on class SAB(s)c galaxy. It is a weakly barred spiral galaxy with loosely wound arms. It has no ring and a faint bulge and is 2.5 by 1.9 arcminutes. It has two primary arms with fragments located farther from the core. 171,000 light-years in diameter, NGC 673 is 235 million light-years from Earth.[47]

Arp 276 is a different pair of interacting galaxies in Aries, consisting of NGC 935 and IC 1801.[48]

NGC 821 is an E6 elliptical galaxy. It is unusual because it has hints of an early spiral structure, which is normally only found in

epoch of reionization.[49]

Meteor showers

Aries is home to several

Daytime Arietid meteor shower is one of the strongest meteor showers that occurs during the day, lasting from 22 May to 2 July. It is an annual shower associated with the Marsden group of comets that peaks on 7 June with a maximum zenithal hourly rate of 54 meteors.[50][51] Its parent body may be the asteroid Icarus. The meteors are sometimes visible before dawn, because the radiant is 32 degrees away from the Sun. They usually appear at a rate of 1–2 per hour as "earthgrazers", meteors that last several seconds and often begin at the horizon. Because most of the Daytime Arietids are not visible to the naked eye, they are observed in the radio spectrum. This is possible because of the ionized gas they leave in their wake.[52][53] Other meteor showers radiate from Aries during the day; these include the Daytime Epsilon Arietids and the Northern and Southern Daytime May Arietids.[54] The Jodrell Bank Observatory discovered the Daytime Arietids in 1947 when James Hey and G. S. Stewart adapted the World War II-era radar systems for meteor observations.[53]

The

near-Earth asteroid.[56]

The Autumn Arietids also radiate from Aries. The shower lasts from 7 September to 27 October and peaks on 9 October. Its peak rate is low.[57] The Epsilon Arietids appear from 12 to 23 October.[8] Other meteor showers radiating from Aries include the October Delta Arietids, Daytime Epsilon Arietids, Daytime May Arietids, Sigma Arietids, Nu Arietids, and Beta Arietids.[54] The Sigma Arietids, a class IV meteor shower, are visible from 12 to 19 October, with a maximum zenithal hourly rate of less than two meteors per hour on 19 October.[58]

Planetary systems

Aries contains several stars with

habitable zone.[62] The star is a small red dwarf with only around a tenth of the mass and radius of the Sun.[62] It has a large radial velocity.[63]

See also

  • Aries (Chinese astronomy)

References

Explanatory notes

  1. Teegarden's star and TZ Arietis. The distance can be calculated from their parallax, listed in SIMBAD
    , by taking the inverse of the parallax and multiplying by 3.26.

Citations

  1. ^ a b Russell 1922, p. 469.
  2. ^ a b "Aries, constellation boundary". The Constellations. International Astronomical Union. Retrieved 14 February 2014.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g Thompson & Thompson 2007, pp. 90–91.
  4. ^ a b RECONS, The 100 Nearest Star Systems.
  5. ^ Pasachoff 2000, pp. 128–189.
  6. ^ Evans 1998, p. 6.
  7. ^ Rogers, Mesopotamian Traditions 1998.
  8. ^ a b c d e f g Staal 1988, pp. 36–41.
  9. ^ Olcott 2004, p. 56.
  10. ^ Rogers, Mediterranean Traditions 1998.
  11. ^ a b Pasachoff 2000, pp. 84–85.
  12. ^ a b c d e f Ridpath 2001, pp. 84–85.
  13. ^ a b c d e f Moore & Tirion 1997, pp. 128–129.
  14. ^ a b c d e f Ridpath, Star Tales Aries: The Ram.
  15. ^ Evans 1998, pp. 41–42.
  16. ^ Winterburn 2008, p. 5.
  17. ^ a b c d Olcott 2004, pp. 57–58.
  18. ^ a b c d Winterburn 2008, pp. 230–231.
  19. ^ Savage-Smith & Belloli 1985, p. 80.
  20. ^ Savage-Smith & Belloli 1985, p. 123.
  21. ^ Savage-Smith & Belloli 1985, pp. 162–164.
  22. ^ a b Ridpath, Star Tales Musca Borealis.
  23. ^ IAU, The Constellations, Aries.
  24. ^ Staal 1988, pp. 17–18.
  25. ^ Makemson 1941, p. 279.
  26. ^ Ridpath, Popular Names of Stars.
  27. ^ a b "Naming Stars". IAU.org. Retrieved 30 July 2018.
  28. ^ SIMBAD Alpha Arietis.
  29. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p Moore 2000, pp. 337–338.
  30. ^ a b Savage-Smith & Belloli 1985, p. 121.
  31. ^ SIMBAD Beta Arietis.
  32. ^ a b c d e f Burnham 1978, pp. 245–252.
  33. ^ Davis 1944.
  34. ^ SIMBAD Gamma Arietis.
  35. ^ SIMBAD Lambda Arietis.
  36. ^ SIMBAD Pi Arietis.
  37. ^ SIMBAD Delta Arietis.
  38. ^ SIMBAD Zeta Arietis.
  39. ^ SIMBAD 14 Arietis.
  40. ^ SIMBAD 39 Arietis.
  41. ^ SIMBAD 35 Arietis.
  42. ^ SIMBAD 41 Arietis.
  43. ^ SIMBAD 53 Arietis.
  44. ^ SIMBAD R Arietis.
  45. ^ SIMBAD T Arietis.
  46. ^ Good 2003, pp. 136–137.
  47. ^ a b c d e Bratton 2011, pp. 63–66.
  48. ^ SIMBAD Arp 276.
  49. ^ Belokurov et al. 2009.
  50. ^ Jopek, "Daytime Arietids".
  51. ^ Bakich 1995, p. 60.
  52. ^ NASA, "June's Invisible Meteors".
  53. ^ a b Jenniskens 2006, pp. 427–428.
  54. ^ a b Jopek, "Meteor List".
  55. ^ Levy 2007, p. 122.
  56. ^ Langbroek 2003.
  57. ^ Levy 2007, p. 119.
  58. ^ Lunsford, Showers.
  59. ^ Wright et al. 2009.
  60. ^ ExoPlanet HD 12661.
  61. ^ ExoPlanet HD 20367.
  62. ^
    S2CID 189999121
    .
  63. S2CID 50864060
    .

Bibliography

Online sources

SIMBAD

  • "Alpha Arietis". SIMBAD. Centre de données astronomiques de Strasbourg. Retrieved 25 May 2012.
  • "Beta Arietis". SIMBAD. Centre de données astronomiques de Strasbourg. Retrieved 25 May 2012.
  • "Gamma Arietis". SIMBAD. Centre de données astronomiques de Strasbourg. Retrieved 25 May 2012.
  • "Lambda Arietis". SIMBAD. Centre de données astronomiques de Strasbourg. Retrieved 25 May 2012.
  • "Pi Arietis". SIMBAD. Centre de données astronomiques de Strasbourg. Retrieved 25 May 2012.
  • "Delta Arietis". SIMBAD. Centre de données astronomiques de Strasbourg. Retrieved 25 May 2012.
  • "Zeta Arietis". SIMBAD. Centre de données astronomiques de Strasbourg. Retrieved 25 May 2012.
  • "14 Arietis". SIMBAD. Centre de données astronomiques de Strasbourg. Retrieved 25 May 2012.
  • "39 Arietis". SIMBAD. Centre de données astronomiques de Strasbourg. Retrieved 25 May 2012.
  • "35 Arietis". SIMBAD. Centre de données astronomiques de Strasbourg. Retrieved 25 May 2012.
  • "41 Arietis". SIMBAD. Centre de données astronomiques de Strasbourg. Retrieved 25 May 2012.
  • "53 Arietis". SIMBAD. Centre de données astronomiques de Strasbourg. Retrieved 25 May 2012.
  • "R Arietis". SIMBAD. Centre de données astronomiques de Strasbourg. Retrieved 25 May 2012.
  • "T Arietis". SIMBAD. Centre de données astronomiques de Strasbourg. Retrieved 25 May 2012.
  • "Arp 276". SIMBAD. Centre de données astronomiques de Strasbourg. Retrieved 12 June 2012.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Aries.

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