Hamal
Hamal, designated Alpha Arietis (α Ari), is an orange giant star located in the northern constellation of Aries, serving as its brightest member with an apparent visual magnitude of 2.00, which ranks it as the 50th-brightest star in the night sky.[1] Situated approximately 65.8 light-years from the Solar System, it has a spectral classification of K2 III, indicating an evolved star that has exhausted its core hydrogen and expanded significantly.[2] Physically, Hamal possesses about 1.5 solar masses, a radius roughly 14.9 times that of the Sun, a surface temperature of 4,480 K, and a luminosity around 91 times greater than the Sun's, resulting in its distinctive orange hue.[1] The name "Hamal" originates from the Arabic phrase rās al-ḥamal, meaning "head of the ram," reflecting its position marking the forehead of Aries in ancient sky lore, a designation formally approved by the International Astronomical Union in 2016.[1] Historically, Hamal held significant astronomical importance as it aligned with the Sun at the vernal equinox from roughly 2000 BCE to 100 BCE, earning it the title of the "First Point of Aries" in celestial coordinate systems, though precession has since shifted this point into Pisces.[3] This precession, occurring at a rate of about 1 degree every 72 years, underscores Hamal's role in ancient navigation and calendrical systems across cultures.[3] In modern astronomy, Hamal's spectrum has been used as a standard reference for classifying K-type giants since 1943, and it is visible to the naked eye from both hemispheres, rising in the eastern sky during autumn evenings in the Northern Hemisphere and reaching its highest point in the southern sky by midwinter.[1] Observations suggest the possible presence of an exoplanet orbiting Hamal with a mass about 1.8 times that of Jupiter and a period of roughly 381 days, though further confirmation is needed.[2]Nomenclature
Designations
Hamal holds the Bayer designation Alpha Arietis (α Ari), assigned by Johann Bayer in 1603 to denote the brightest star in the constellation Aries.[4] It also carries the Flamsteed designation 13 Arietis, from John Flamsteed's 1712 catalog, which numbers stars by right ascension within each constellation.[4] In modern catalogs, Hamal is listed as HR 617 in the Harvard Revised Catalogue of 1982 and as HD 12929 in the Henry Draper Catalogue of 1918–1924.[4] Additional identifiers include SAO 75151 from the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory Star Catalog (1966) and HIP 9884 from the Hipparcos Catalogue (1997).[4] The International Astronomical Union approved "Hamal" as the proper name for Alpha Arietis in July 2016 via its Working Group on Star Names, as part of standardizing traditional names for navigational and cultural significance.[5]| Catalog | Designation |
|---|---|
| Bayer | α Ari |
| Flamsteed | 13 Ari |
| Harvard Revised (HR) | 617 |
| Henry Draper (HD) | 12929 |
| Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory (SAO) | 75151 |
| Hipparcos (HIP) | 9884 |