SHORT CONSTELLATION GUIDE

The Ram (Aries)

From mid-April to mid-May, the sun passes through the Ram constellation. This constellation is best viewed in the fall and winter months (October until January). It is not a very noticeable star formation. The three brightest stars draw a bow, which is supposed to depict the horns of the ram. The brightest star is called Hamal (which means sheep’s head).

From mythology – an interesting story that has been told for many centuries

Athamas, the King of Thebes, was no longer happy with his wife Nephele, the cloud goddess. He divorced her and married the beautiful Ino. The two sons from the marriage with Nephele, Phrixus and Helle, were so hated by Ino so much that she wanted to kill them both. She concocted an evil plan: she poisoned the farmers‘ seeds so that the next harvest was spoiled and a great famine came over the people. A false message from the oracle at Delphi (which was actually a lie made up by Ino) let it be known that the sons of the king must be sacrificed in order to end the famine. Just as this sacrifice was about to occur, the prayers of the despairing mother, Nephele, were heard, and Hermes, the messenger of the gods, sent a ram with golden fleece to keep the two sons from harm. The ram took the sons onto its back and disappeared with them up into the sky. During their journey, one of the king‘s sons, Helle, fell from the ram‘s back, crashed into the ocean, and drowned. But the other son, Phrixus, survived, and the good animal brought him to safety. Out of gratitude, Phrixus sacrificed the ram to Zeus (= Jupiter, the king of the gods); through its sacrifice, the ram was raised up to become an eternally visible element of the sky. Phrixus gave the ram‘s coat, the Golden Fleece, to King Aeëtes of Colchis, who had it protected by a dragon in the sacred cave of Ares (Mars, the god of war).

Finding the constellation in the sky

First find the Square of Pegasus. When stars 1 and 4 are connected to the Hamal star in the Ram, an isosceles triangle is formed. Hamal (Alpha Arietis) means „sheep’s head“. It shines with an orange-red color and is the brightest star in the constellation, with a magnitude of 2. Sheratan (Beta Arietis) is somewhat weaker.