Mythology and observing spots for the tiny constellation Aries the Ram.
West of Taurus and the fine cluster of Pleiades lies a near void in the sky. This area is reserved for Aries the Ram. This constellation is most notable for what it doesn't have. Hardly any bright stars, notable clusters, galaxies, or nebulae. Aries is the second smallest constellation of the zodiac, with only Capricornus being smaller.
The head of a ram is supposed to be represented in its few brighter stars. In Greek mythology, Aries was a ram who carried twins Phrixus and Helle to safety on his back. They were trying to escape their evil stepmother Ino. Poor Helle fell into the water as Aries flew over the Dardanelles. She drowned there but her brother Phrixus made it safely to Colchis. As thanks to the god Zeus, Phrixus sacrificed Aries. Zeus put Aries in the sky but his fleece was hung on a tree, where it turned to gold. This golden fleece would later be the goal of the quest in the story about Jason and the Argonauts.
The two brightest stars in Aries are named Hamal and Sheratan. Hamal is the brighter of the two at magnitude 2.0, and Sheratan shines at magnitude 2.64. Hamal and Sheratan are about 66 and 60 light-years away, respectively. Another star in Aries is one of the closest stars to the Sun. Teegarden lies about 7.5 light-years away. It is a dim red dwarf at 15th magnitude. It also has one of the largest proper motions ever discovered for a star, moving approximately 5 arcseconds a year.
So far astronomers have found 5 unconfirmed extrasolar planets in Aries. Extrasolar planets are planets that exist around stars other than our sun. These potential planets lie between 88 and 173 light-years from Earth.
The "best" galaxy to view in Aries comes in at only 11th magnitude: NGC 772. This dim but pretty spiral galaxy shows asymmetry in its arms. NGC 678 is a magnitude 12.2 delicate, edge-on spiral galaxy. Notable clusters and nebulae in Aries are absent.
The term "the First Point of Aries" refers to when the ecliptic and celestial equator cross, signaling the Vernal equinox. When this point was first discovered, it lay in the constellation Aries. But because of precession the point slowly moves, and it is currently in Pisces, although it is still referred to as the First Point of Aries.
