Aries

By BrightK self-checked Published 2026-09-04 Updated 2026-10-18 Editorial policy

• Constellations
• In the sky now

What is Aries?

Constellations· Autumn evenings (N) · three stars below Triangulum. The ram of the Golden Fleece. It is only three stars in a short bent line, yet it became the first sign of the zodiac because the Sun stood here at the spring equinox about two thousand years ago. The slow wobble of Earth's axis has since moved that point into Pisces.

Stars of the figure

The 1 brightest of the 3 stars used in the figure (2 lines). Lower magnitude means brighter.

Constellation basics

Figures are representative approximations. Source: compiled from NASA and IAU public data.

The First Point of Aries — a reference point that kept its name

The spring equinox left Aries about two thousand years ago, but the name stayed. In navigation and astronomy, the reference point from which star positions are measured is still called the First Point of Aries, and its symbol, ♈, is the ram's horns. The nautical almanac used to find a ship's position by the stars lists where this point lies for every day, and each star's own coordinate is added to it.

The actual equinox now lies in Pisces and will move into Aquarius around AD 2600. The name is kept for a practical reason: the drift of the point can be handled by a correction in the calculations, whereas renaming it would make old and new tables disagree. So the name of small, faint Aries remains the reference for writing down star positions across the whole sky.

The constellation in depth

In Greek myth Aries is the golden-fleeced ram that carried the brother and sister Phrixus and Helle through the sky to Colchis. Its fleece later became the Golden Fleece that the hero Jason and the Argonauts set out to find. Earlier still, the Babylonians called these stars the Hired Man.

Around the second century BC the Sun stood in Aries at the spring equinox, so the Sun's position at that moment came to be called the First Point of Aries. Earth's axis, however, slowly changes direction like a spinning top, taking about 26,000 years to go round once. The equinox point shifts with it and now lies in neighbouring Pisces.

On autumn evenings, looking east between the Great Square of Pegasus and the Pleiades shows Hamal and Sheratan in a short, bent line. With few bright stars, city skies may show only Hamal. The third star, Mesarthim, splits in a small telescope into two nearly equal white stars. With the Sky view set to an early December evening, Aries stands high in the south.

Frequently asked

When can I see Aries?

Aries is best seen in autumn evenings, November–December.

How do I find Aries?

To find Aries, look for the bent line of three stars between the Great Square and the Pleiades.

What is the brightest star in Aries?

The brightest star in Aries is Hamal, at magnitude 2.

Related

Figures are representative approximations. Simulated positions use J2000 mean elements.