As we know, throughout the sky we usually find numerous constellations that they are nothing more than a group of stars that come together giving rise to a specific shape. In this case, we are going to talk about the constellation Aries. It is one of the 12 constellations of the zodiac. The zodiac zone is that heavenly scene through which the sun appears to move. It is said in which the sun seem to move, since we know that the sun is a star in a fixed position. It only refers to the path that it appears to follow from the ground observer.
In this article we are going to tell you all the characteristics, composition and curiosities of the constellation of Aries.
Composition of the constellation of aires
It is a type of grouping of stars that is found between the constellations of Pisces and Taurus. These two constellations too belong to the group found in the zodiac zone. The constellation of Aries has been well known since ancient times since it appears in the stellar catalog that Ptolemy made and that collect 48 constellations. This catalog has been created since the second century after Christ.
For all those people who want to visualize the constellations of the zodiac the firmament, you have to look for the constellation of Aries in the first quadrant of the northern hemisphere. It can be seen from almost any latitude as long as they are above 60 degrees south. It is medium in size and occupies the 39th position among the 88 modern constellations that are ordered by size. Modern constellations are ordered by size from largest to smallest to classify each of them. The surface area on the celestial sphere of the constellation of air is approximately 441 square degrees.
In order to better identify this constellation we can see which are the neighboring constellations. These are the following: perseus (Perseus), the Triangle (Triangulum), the Fishes (Pisces), Keto (Cetus) and Taurus (Taurus). The constellation Aries is one of the best known among astronomers as it causes a well-known meteor shower. As we know, there are showers of stars every so often in the sky. Among these meteor showers produced by this constellation we have the diurnal Arietids in summer, as well as the Epsilon Arietids and the May Arietids.
Another reason it is important is because a number of stars have been found with other planets orbiting them.
Mythological origin
We are going to know what is the mythological origin of this constellation. The animal that represents Aries is a ram. This is because Aries comes from Latin and means ram. Being already known to the Babylonian civilization, initially it had a form of agricultural worker. It was already in the late period of the Babylonian civilization that the entire grouping of stars became associated with the figure of a ram. However, we must know that this is a type of association. It is not exactly shaped like a ram.
Another civilization that had knowledge about this constellation was the Egyptian civilization. The Egyptians associated this grouping of stars with the God Amun. The difference was that on numerous occasions the shape of this constellation was represented with the head of a ram.
A curiosity of the constellation Aries is that two millennia ago the spring equinox took place during the passage through this constellation. This made that point where the equinox passes through the constellation of Aries had the name of Aries point or vernal point. At this point where the spring equinox intersects with the constellation, it was also considered that it was where the zodiac zone began. The designation of this point has been maintained to the present day, despite the fact that at the equinoxes they precede. The precession of the equinoxes makes now the spring equinox passes through the constellation pisces. In the future it will pass through another of the constellations.
Constellation in Greek mythology
The figure of Aries is associated with the ram that rescued Phryxus and Hele. According to the myth that gave rise to this constellation, these characters were children of King Atamante and his first wife Nefele. Since this man's second wife felt great hatred and envy for her he decided Come up with a plan to kill them both. The plan was to cause a famine throughout the kingdom so they had to make a sacrifice to the gods to end the famine. The sacrifice was nothing more than killing Frixus and Hele. The woman made it known to her husband that the oracle of Delphi was the one that transmitted to her that she had to sacrifice Phryxus and Hele.
When King Atamante was about to sacrifice his children, Aries arrived. There is wine sent by Nefele, the mother of Frixo and Hele. Thanks to this intervention he was able to rescue the children and I tell them to Colchis. The story did not end quite well since Frixo could not survive this trip.
Stars of the constellation Aries
This constellation has quite a few interesting stars. However, the three most important stars in this constellation are Alpha, Beta, and Gamma Arietis. Total the constellation has about 67 stars which follow the Bayer name. Despite this, only two of them have an apparent magnitude that has a value lower than 2. Let's see in detail and what are the characteristics of the 3 most important stars in this constellation:
- Alpha Arietis: is the brightest of the constellation Aries. It is also known by the name of Hamal. They are 66 light years away and it is a giant star that has a planet orbiting it.
- Beta Arietis: It is also known by the name of Sheratan. It is a binary star that has an apparent magnitude of 2.66. The main component of this star is a bluish-white star.
- Gamma Arietis: it is also known by the common name of Mesarthim. As with beta, it is a binary star that is made up of two white stars that orbit around a common center with a period of 5000 years. The magnitude of this combined star is apparently 3.86 and it is located at a distance of 164 light years from the solar system.
I hope that with this information you can learn more about the constellation of Aries.