Aries (constellation)

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Aries constellation
Aries constellation map.png
Legend
Latin name Aries
Latin genitive Arietis
Abbreviation Ari
Right ascension 1463701 h 46 m 37 s to  03 h 29 m 42 s32942
declination 2102148+ 10 ° 21 ′ 48 ″ to  + 31 ° 13 ′ 17 ″2311317
surface 441,395 deg²
rank 39
Completely visible 90 ° N to 59.1 ° S
Observation time for Central Europe autumn
Number of stars brighter than 3 mag 2
Brightest star (size) Hamal (2.01)
Meteor streams
Neighboring constellations
(
clockwise from north )
swell IAU ,

The Widder ( Latin Aries , symbol Aries.svg, Unicode ♈) is a Ekliptiksternbild .

description

The constellation of Aries as seen with the naked eye

Aries is a small but striking constellation. It lies south of the inconspicuous constellation triangle (Triangulum) and east of the Pisces (Pisces). The brighter stars α (Hamal), β (Sheratan) and γ (Mesarthim) form a curved line.

history

Engraving of the constellation Aries

In ancient times, more than 2,000 years ago, was the spring equinox , the position of the ecliptic spring, the equinox the sun marked on the ecliptic, in the constellation Aries. Due to the precession movement of the Earth's axis, the vernal equinox shifts slowly westwards against the background of the constellations. Around the birth of Christ or up to a hundred years before that, the vernal equinox was on the border between the zodiac signs Aries and Pisces, to later migrate to the constellation Pisces. The zodiac sign Aries goes back to this constellation. Nowadays the sun passes through the constellation of Aries every year from April 19th to May 14th.

The constellation Northern Fly , which is no longer used, is now part of Aries.

mythology

The constellation is first mentioned in the 3rd millennium BC. In Mesopotamia and was called MUL.LÚ HUN.GÁ, arable farmer there.

The constellation Aries goes back to the legend of the golden fleece from Greek mythology . The mythical King Athamas appointed his eldest son, Phrixus , to be his successor. His stepmother Ino wanted to see her own son on the throne. To get Phrixos out of the way, she resorted to a ruse. So she let the seeds that were destined for the next year spoil. When a bad harvest set in the next year, she had Athamas delivered an alleged oracle . According to this, a famine can only be averted by sacrificing Phrixus to the gods. When the unfortunate Athamas was about to offer the sacrifice, a ram with a golden skin appeared. Phrixus and his sister Helle jumped onto the back of the animal, which flew away with them. However, Helle lost her footing and fell into the sea.

Phrixus reached Colchis on the Black Sea and sacrificed the ram at his request. The ram was moved in thanks to heaven. The animal's fur, the golden fleece, was kept in a sacred grove .

The Argonauts legend tells of the robbery of the fleece by Jason that followed .

Bible

According to the controversial film Zeitgeist , Abraham's sacrifice of a ram instead of his son Isaac ( Gen 22.13  EU ) is said to be related to the "Aries Age" (passage of the vernal equinox through the constellation Aries). The condemnation of the golden calf by Moses ( Ex 32,19-20  EU ) is supposed to symbolize the end of the Taurus age before the beginning of the Aries age.

Celestial objects

Stars

B. F. Names m M. Lj Spectral class
101α 13 Hamal , Elnath 2.01 0.48 66 K2 III
102β 6th Sheratan 2.64 1.33 60 A5 V
200cc 41 Bharani 3.61 0.16 160 B8 V
400γ 1.2γ 1.2 5 Mesarthim 3.88 0.8 204 A1
104δ Botein 4.35 0.79 168 K2 III
400 HD 20644 4.47 −2.0 640 K2 II-III
400 39 4.52 0.8 180 K1 III
105ε 48 4.63 −0.13 293 A2 V
400 35 4.65 −0.6 370 B3 V
111λ 9 4.79 1.73 133 F0 V
106ζ 58 4.87 −0.22 340 A1 V
400 14th 4.98 0.0 340 A1 V
110κ 12 5.03 1.23 187 A2m
109ι 8th 5.09 −1.44 660 G2 Ib
400τ 2τ 2 63 4.87 0.14 340 K3 III
400 38 5.17 2.25 125 A7 III
107η 17th 5.23 2.83 98 F5 V
116π 42 5.26 −1.02 600 B6 V
400τ 1τ 1 61 5.27 −0.48 462 B5 IV
400 53 6.13 −0.69 750 B1 V

Hamal is the brightest star in Aries with an apparent magnitude of 2.01 m . It is 66 light years away and has 15 times the diameter and 90 times the luminosity of our sun.
The name Hamal is of Arabic origin and means "ram". Sometimes he is also referred to as Elnath, in Arabic "the one who pokes the horn".

The second brightest star, β Arietis, is 60 light years away. It is a close binary star system that cannot be observed with optical telescopes . Only spectroscopic investigations showed that two stars at a distance of 1.2 AU move on extremely eccentric orbits around a common center of gravity.
The Arabic name Sheratan , "the two characters", refers to the fact that β and γ Arietis marked the point of the spring equinox in ancient times .

53 Arietis is a bluish-white star 750 light-years away. With an apparent brightness of 6.13 m, it is barely visible to the naked eye on a dark night. Measurements of the proper motion showed that the star moves at an extraordinarily high speed of 100 km / s. Like AE Aurigae in the Fuhrmann and μ Columbae in the pigeon, he belongs to the class of runaway stars (outliers). It is possible that these stars were once members of a multiple star system and were ejected from the Orion Association as a result of a supernova explosion or the near passage of another system two to three million years ago.

Double stars

The double stars are:

system m distance
γ 4.6 / 4.7 / 9 7.7 / 221 ″
λ 4.9 / 7.4 37.4 ″
ε 5.2 / 5.5 1.4 ″
τ 1 5.4 / 7.9 / 8.4 0.15 / 0.67 ″
10 5.9 / 7.3 1.3 ″
1 6.2 / 7.4 2.8 ″

γ Arietis ( Mesarthim ) is a multiple star system 150 light years away, consisting of three stars that revolve around a common center of gravity. In a small telescope, you can see two white stars of about the same brightness. The faint third component is visible at a further distance of 221 arc seconds .

Variable stars

Variable stars :

star m period Type
τ 1 5.26 to 5.32 Eclipsing star

τ 1 Arietis is an eclipse-variable star 462 light-years away.

Messier and NGC objects

Messier and NGC objects:

Messier (M) NGC other m Type Surname
680 Galaxy
772 Galaxy

Notes and individual references

  1. ↑ The Age of Aquarius or the Kingdom of God - what is in store for us? Retrieved July 2, 2020 .

See also

Web links

Commons : Aries  - album with pictures, videos and audio files