Aries (constellation)
Channel: all the knowledge of the universe PRINCIPIA
Date: 2021-12-02

Aries (constellation), by Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=798 / CC BY SA 3.0

#Aries_(constellation)
#Constellations
#Constellations_listed_by_Ptolemy
#Northern_constellations
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 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: Hamal （Alpha Arietis, second magnitude）, Sheratan （Beta Arietis, third magnitude）, Mesarthim （Gamma Arietis, fourth magnitude）, and 41 Arietis （also fourth magnitude）.
The few deep-sky objects within the constellation are quite faint and include several pairs of interacting galaxies.
Several meteor showers appear to radiate from Aries, including the Daytime Arietids and the Epsilon Arietids.
Aries is recognized as an official constellation now, albeit as a specific region of the sky, by the International Astronomical Union.
It was originally defined in ancient texts as a specific pattern of stars, and has remained a constellation since ancient times; it now includes the ancient pattern as well as the surrounding stars.
In the description of the Babylonian zodiac given in the clay tablets known as the MUL.APIN, the constellation, now known as Aries, was the final station along the ecliptic.
The MUL.APIN was a comprehensive table of the risings and settings of stars, whi...