Aries Constellation Facts
This constellation is located in the Northern celestial hemisphere, having Pisces to the west and Taurus to the east. According to the tropical astrology the Sun is considered to be in Aries from March 21 to April 19 while the sidereal astrology considers it from April 15 to May 15.
Aries is one of the constellations of the zodiac and belongs to the 88 modern constellations.
The name of the constellation Aries is Latin for ram. It was first described by Ptolemy.
Astrologically, this is associated with the planet Mars.
Dimensions: 441 square degrees.
Brightness: Quite a dim constellation.
Rank: 39th overall size.
History: Aries has been a constellation since ancient times and now is recognized by the International Astronomical Union as a constellation that includes the ancient pattern and some surrounding stars.
Ancient Egyptians associated Aries with Amon- Ra, the god of fertility and creativity, who is depicted as a man with a ram’s head. The Aries constellation was also depicted as a wingless ram that has its head turned towards Taurus.
Stars: There are four important stars Alpha Arietis (Hamal), Beta Arietis (Sheratan), Gamma Arietis (Mesarthim) and 41 Arietis. The first three form an asterism and are commonly used for navigation. Hamal, the name of the first is derived from the Arab word for head of ram. Beta and Gamma Arietis were known as the “horns of the ram”. The constellation also has several double stars, for example: Epsilon and Pi Arietis.
Galaxies: This constellation has a few spiral, elliptical and interacting galaxies.
Meteor showers include the Daytime Arietids, the Delta Arietids and the Epsilon Arietids. The Daytime Arietids occurs during the day from May 22 to June 2 and is believed to be one of the strongest meteor showers. The Delta Arietids last from December 8 to January 14 and can sometimes produce bright fireballs.