I could not find much in Aries so this is a quick trip.
Stockton Astronomical Society
Valley Skies - December 1998 Issue
Constellations:
Aries the Ram
Gen: Arietis
Abb: Ari
Dec: +10.2° to +30.9°
RA: 1h 44m to 3h 02m
Aries is one of the oldest and most revered constellations in the zodiac. This is evident from the fact that over 2000 years ago when astrology was first developed the Ram was considered the first constellation.
Aries has been known as a Ram throughout history; it was the Romans that gave it the name, Aries. To the Egyptians it was the sun god Amun – Re, a Feather Crowned Ram, a symbol of fertility and power.
In April when the sun is in the constellation of Aries, the Jews celebrate the festival of Passover. This holiday marks the release of the Hebrew slaves from their Egyptian masters. As part of the first Passover, the Hebrews smeared lamb’s blood on their doorframes so the Angel of Death would pass them by; it may also have been a way of mocking the greatest of the Egyptian Gods.
To the Greeks, Aries is tied to the legend of Jason and the Argonauts. The story begins with Athmamas (a king of Thebes) being tricked by his second wife, into sacrificing his children to Zeus. Zeus became furious and sent a ram with a Golden Fleece to rescue the children, Phrixus and Helle. As the Ram flew away with the children, Helle slid off of the Ram’s back and fell to her death at a spot to be known as the Hellespont (sea of Helle; now known as the Dardanelles). The Ram continued on with Phrixus until he reached the safety of King Æetes of Colchis. Zeus later sacrificed the Ram and gave its hide to King Æetes. Æetes hung the fleece on an oak branch in the Grove of Ares. The fleece was protected by a terrible serpent, which lived in the tree. When Jason came to get the Golden Fleece, the king refused to let Jason have it. Jason then used the King’s daughter Medea, to bewitch the serpent while he grabbed the Fleece.
Exploring in Aries
I could not find much in Aries so this is a quick trip.
To find Aries in the sky, look out at 9:00 pm on December 2nd; the first bright star to the west of the Pleiades and on the meridian will be Alpha (a) Ari. Just to the southwest you will see two more bright stars, Beta (b) and Gamma (g) Ari. These two stars are also called Sheratan and Mesarthim respectively, and they represent the horns of the Ram.
a Ari is also known as Hamal, meaning the Head of the Sheep.
From Hamal move 2½° to the west, to Lambda (l) Ari. Lambda is a color-contrasting open multiple system. The primary star is white at magnitude 4.9, while the second star is pale blue at magnitude 7.7. The two are separated by 37.4 arc sec.
From Lambda travel 2° southwest to 1 Ari; this is another double with the primary being yellow while its companion is white. Now move just to the east for a very faint group of galaxies. This group forms a "V" running to the east and south of 1 Ari and includes NGC678, 680, 691, 694, 695 and NGC697. Of these six galaxies, NGC697 is probably the only one visible to my 10" scope.
Back to 1 Ari: if you imagine a line starting at 1 Ari and running through b Ari, follow this line just over the same distance past b to find NGC772. NGC772 is larger and brighter than NGC697, with a bright nucleus. If you are at a very dark site you may be able to pick out NGC770, which appears to be nestled in one of the spiral arms of NGC772.
There are a couple of other galaxies in the area, but so far I can not find them and the ones I have listed here are hard enough to find.
Good luck and very dark skies...Eric
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Lasted Updated: 11/22/2000
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