While facts about the constellation Aries are well known, its discoverer is still a mystery. Its existence was known to the Greeks. The Egyptians, Babylonians and other ancient civilizations were aware of its existence too.
Facts and Figures
The constellation’s symbol is the ram and has an area of 441 sq degrees. It has four stars with planets. There are two bright stars and two nearby. There are six meteor showers (the May, Autumn, Delta, Epsilon, Daytime Arietids, and the Aries Triangulids).
The constellations in the vicinity are Taurus, Perseus, Pisces, Cetus and Triangulum. A study of the facts about the constellation Aries show the best time to view it is at + 90 degrees and – 60 degrees on 9:00 PM in December.
Alpha Arietis (Hamal) has a magnitude of 2, the brightest star in Aries. It has a reddish hue. It is 5 times bigger than the Sun and 55 times brighter. Beta Arietis has a magnitude of 2.7 and more than 60 light years away. The Gamma Arietis is a double star with a magnitude of 4.6.
Viewed with binoculars it will appear as one star. A telescope is needed to see the two stars. An assessment of the facts about the constellation Aries show it is a double star. It was discovered in 1664 by Robert Cooke.
The Lambda Arietis has a magnitude of 5 and less than 140 light-years from the Earth. Other noteworthy stars are the Pi Arietis (blue white), 30 Arietis and 53 Arietis. The latter is characterized by rapid velocity.
The NGC 772 appears as a spiral galaxy. With a small telescope it looks like a patch. Larger telescopes are needed to see it in its full form. There are also a lot of meteor showers in this constellation. One of the amazing facts about the constellation Aries is that there are lots of meteor showers there.
The May Arietids take place between May 4 to June 4. The height of the activity takes place on May 16. The Epsilon showers occur in the daylight. It occurs from April 25 to May 27. The Daytime Arietids take place from May 22 to July 2. The Delta shower was first seen in 1959 and is visible on the 8th of December.
Although the Sun is now in the constellation Pisces, Aries is still regarded as the first constellation. The Egyptians used to identify it with Ra and came to stand for power. For the Mesopotamians the constellation stood for military power. Among the Hebrews it was known as the lamb that overcame death.
The Greeks associated it with the Golden Fleece, one of the greatest legends in mythology. The constellation was actually mentioned by the Greeks in the third century BC. Ptolemy also mentioned the stars in his writings. Some researchers believe it is the sign that the magi used to look for the infant Jesus.
These are just some of the facts about the constellation Aries. Although it is not as widely watched as the others, it is still an interesting cluster of stars.