History of Aries
Though connecting lines are often drawn within the constellations to form a picture in the night sky, most of them are just symbols, meaningful to the early astronomers envisioning stories of loyalty, betrayal, and war among legendary heroes and mythical creatures playing out their dramas for eternity.
Sumerian astronomers envisioned Aries to be an “agrarian” or farmer, most likely associating that part of the sky with the timing of their planting and harvesting.
And of course, the story that has endured the centuries is the figure of Aries as the mythical ram with the “golden fleece” pursued by Jason and the Argonauts.
- Hamal, a name that means “head of the ram” is one of the brightest stars in the night sky with a magnitude of +.47. Hamal is classified as a giant star, meaning it has burned through it’s hydrogen core and is expanding into a red giant
- Beta Arietis is Sheratan, a spectroscopic binary located approximately 65 light years from earth. The primary is a blue-white main sequence star orbited closely by a small companion, visible only as their spectral lines contrast
