Epsilon Arietis is a binary star, approximately 293 light years distant. It is composed of two white A-type main sequence dwarfs separated by 1.5 arc seconds. The components have apparent magnitudes of 5.2 and 5.5. The combined magnitude of the double star is 4.63.
41 Arietis, sometimes also known as c Arietis, has the traditional name Bharani. The star was named after the second lunar mansion (division of the sky) in Hindu astrology. Bharani belongs to the spectral class B8Vn and is 160 light years distant. Its apparent magnitude is 3.61.
Delta Arietis, also known as Botein, is an orange K-type giant star approximately 168 light years from Earth. It has an apparent magnitude of 4.35 and a diameter 13 times longer than that of the Sun. The star’s name is derived from the Arabic word butain, which means “belly.”
Mesarthim, Gamma Arietis, is a triple star system. The origin of the name Mesarthim has been lost. The star has also at times been referred to as the First Star in Aries because at one point it was the nearest visible star to the point of the vernal equinox.
Gamma Arietis includes a binary star system composed of two white A-type main sequence stars with apparent magnitudes of 4.75 and 4.83, lying 7.7 arc seconds apart, and a third component, a magnitude 9.6 K-type star that lies 221 arc seconds away. The system is approximately 160 light years distant. The brightest component is classified as an Alpha-2 Canum Venaticorum type variable star, a chemically peculiar main sequence star with strong magnetic fields and strong strontium, chromium, or silicon spectral lines. The star’s brightness varies by 0.04 magnitudes with a period of 2.61 days.
Sheratan, Beta Arietis, is a white main sequence star and a spectroscopic binary, 59.6 light years distant. The companion is suspected to be a G class star. Sheratan has a visual magnitude of 2.64. The name comes from the Arabic phrase aš-šarāţān, which means “the two signs,” and refers to the vernal equinox, which the star marked together with Gamma Arietis a few thousand years ago.
Hamal is the brightest star in the constellation Aries and the 48th brightest star in the night sky. It is a K-type orange giant about twice as massive as the Sun, with an apparent magnitude varying between 1.98 and 2.04.
The star is 66 light years distant. Between 2000 and 100 BC, Hamal was located at the vernal equinox, the point that marks the beginning of spring.
The name Hamal means lamb and derives from the Arabic phrase rās al-ħamal, meaning “head of the ram.”
