Aries - The Ram

Learn about the constellation Aries - The Ram, location, facts, mythology, meteor showers and deep space objects.

Aries is one of the constellations of the zodiac. It lies between Pisces to the west and Taurus to the east.

Location: Northern Autumn 3h RA 20° Dec

When including fainter stars visible to the naked eye, the area resembles the head of a ram, having a general herbivore head shape and a spiral horn.

Aries Mythology

Aries represents the ram of the Golden Fleece sought by Jason and the Argonauts. The ram had originally been presented to Nephele by Mercury when her husband took a new wife, Ino, who persecuted Nephele's children. To keep them safe, Nephele sent Phrixus and Helle away on the back of the magical ram, who flew away to the east. Helle fell off into the Hellespont (now the Dardanelles) between the Aegean Sea and the Sea of Marmara, but Phrixus safely made it to Colchis on the eastern shore of the Black Sea. Phrixus sacrificed the ram and presented the Golden Fleece to the king, Aeetes.

Aries Deep Space Objects

Gamma Arietis is one of the first double stars to be discovered, found in 1664 by the English scientist Robert Hooke while he was searching for a comet.