The Constellation Aries
By Betsy Weeks ASTR 1070 FALL 2009
Overview
Aries is the astronomic constellation of the ram. Aries is located in the quadrant NQ1 and is visible at latitudes between +90 degrees and -60 degrees, and is best visible in the winter months, specifically in December around 9:00 PM. Aries is the 39th largest constellation.
In Greek culture, the horn of the ram was thought to symbolize fertility of renewal. The constellation was named for Aries because in Greek mythology, Aries was a flying ram that was sent to save the brother and sister Phrixus and Helle from being sacrificed to stave off famine. Phrixus was saved, and he then sacrificed the ram to Zeus to show his gratitude to the god. It is also said that the golden fleece of the ram was sought my Jason and the Argonauts.
Prominent Stars
| Star Name | Ascension | Declination | Apparent Magnitude | Absolute Magnitude | Distance (PC) | MK Spectral Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aplha Arietis (Hamal) | 2h 7m 10.407s | +23° 27' 44.723" | 2.02 | 0.492 | 20.21 | K2-III |
| Lambda Arietis | 1h 57m 55.717s | +23° 35' 45.820" | 2.02 | 1.715 | 40.83 | F0V |
| Beta Arietis (Sharaton) | 1h 54m 38.409s | +20° 48' 28.926" | 2.66 | 1.325 | 18.27 | A5V |
| Epsilon Arietis | 2h 59m 12.676s | +21° 20' 24.262" | 4.63 | -0.134 | 89.69 | A2V |
| 41 Arietis | 2h 49m 59.032s | +27° 15' 37.825" | 3.62 | 0.173 | 48.9 | B8V |
| 35 Arietis | 2h 43m 27.112s | +27° 42' 25.728" | 4.65 | -0.623 | 113.38 | B3V |
| 39 Arietis | 2h 47m 54.540s | +29° 14' 49.625" | 4.52 | 0.804 | 55.37 | K1.5III |
| Gamma Arietis (Mesarthim) | 1h 53m 31.814s | +19° 17' 37.866" | 4.52 | -0.104 | 62.66 | A1pSi |
| Delta Arietis (Botein) | 3h 11m 37.765s | +19° 43' 36.039" | 4.35 | 0.739 | 51.44 | K0III |
Detailed Feature: Alpha Arietis (Hamal)
Hamal is the brightest star in the constellation Aries. The word Hamal translates into "The head of the sheep", and that's exactly what it is. Hamal, Lambda Arietis, and Beta Arietis (Sharatan) make up the head of the sheep that can be seen within the constellation in the night sky. Hamal's celestial coordinates are 2 hours, 7 minutes, and 10.407 seconds right ascension, and 23 degrees, 27.44 minutes, and 44.723 seconds left declination. Hamal is located 20.21 parsecs from earth. Hamal's spectral type is K2-III, which means that its temperature is about 4200 K. The apparent magnitude of this star is about 2.02, and its absolute magnitude is approximately 0.492. When it shines in the night sky, Hamal shines with a reddish color, and is about 55 times brighter and five times more massive than our sun!
Detailed Feature: Gamma Arietis (Mesarthim)
Mesarthim is an easy-to-see, wide, double star with bluish components. Mesarthim is located in the constellation Aries, and makes up the front foot of the ram. It's celestial coordinates are 1 hours, 53 minutes, 31.814 seconds right ascension, and 19 degrees, 17 minutes, and 37.866 seconds left declination. Mesarthim has an observed visual magnitude of 3.88, and an absolute magnitude of -0.104. It is located about 62.66 parsecs away from earth. Mesarthim is a spectral type A1pSi, with a temperature of about 9230 K. Gamma Arietis is one of the first double stars to be discovered, found in 1664 by the English scientist Robert Hooke while he was searching for a comet.
Detailed Feature: Galaxy NGC 772
NGC 772 is a faint spiral galaxy located in the constellation Aries. This galaxy is an unbarred spiral galaxy, classified as an SA(s)b spiral shaped galaxy. NGC 772 is about 100 million light years away, and has almost twice the diameter of the Milky Way Galaxy, measuing in at approximately 200,000 light years across. NGC 772 is located at 1 hour, 59 minutes, 19.6 seconds right ascension, and 19 degrees, 00 minutes, and 27 seconds left declination. NGC 772 has an apparent magnitude of 11.1. NGC 772 also has a satellite galaxy named NGC 770, which distorts NGC 772's assymetrical arms from our view because of the interaction between the two. Astronomers have observed two supernovae in NGC 772.
Detailed Feature: Arietids
The Arietids are a strong meteor shower that lasts from May 22 to July 2 each year, and is most intense around June 8th. The Arietids are one of the most intense daylight meteor showers of the year. The Arietid meteors stream out of the constellation Aries. Scientists don't know what the source of this meteor shower is, but scientists believe it comes from the asteroid 1566 lcarus. During the peak of the shower, it produces about one meteor every minute. The meteors hit the earth's atmosphere at a speed of about 87,000 miles per hour. If you want to try to see a few Arietids, look just before sunrise. The Arietid radiant rises in the east about 45 minutes before the sun rises in both hemispheres. Pre-dawn Arietids are ususally "Earthgrazers"-- which are usually slow and bright, streaking far across the sky.
Annotated Bibliography
"Constellation Aries" Night Sky Info.com. Night Sky Info. Web. 2 Dec. 2009.
This website was helpful in finding a lot of the information on the constellation Aries, as well as ideas and information about my detailed features. It was very helpful, and seemed reliable because it was published on a website called "Night Sky Info", which obviously must have a lot of information about astronomy.
"Daylight Meteors: The Arietids" Spaceweather.com. Web. 2 Dec. 2009.
This page was where I found most of the information on the Arietids, which was the meteor shower reported on in one of the detailed features. This site had useful information about the showers, and was professionally written. It seems reliable because it's published by a science website.
Wikipedia.com
I used wikipedia as a starting point for a lot of my research. I looked at a few different articles on this site. It contained a lot of information about my constellation as well as information about the different objects that are located inside of Aries. This website can sometimess be unreliable because information is easily edited, but it is a good starting point for research.
"Astronomy Constellations" tcaep.co.uk. Web. 1 Dec. 2009.
This was the site that contained almost all of the data I found about the stars. I used this site to create my tables and get the information I needed about each star to create my model. I think that this site is reliable because Dr. Barrans recommended it as a beginning place for the project.