hamal | English | Dictionary & Translation by Babylon

Alpha Arietis

Alpha Arietis (α Ari / α Arietis) is the brightest star in the constellation Aries. It also has the traditional names Hamal and El Nath. Its Flamsteed designation is 13 Arietis, but this is very rarely used because it is a bright star with a Bayer designation.The name "Hamal" derives from the Arabic name for the constellation as a whole, Al Ħamal, "the sheep" or "the ram". Because of the confusion between star and constellation, the star is also (rarely) referred to as راس حمل rās al-ħamal, "head of the sheep/ram".The star is a K2 IIICa giant star, which means it is an orangish, large star (some 55 times brighter, 18 times larger in diameter, and 4.5 times more massive than the sun), while the "Ca" notation indicates calcium lines in its spectrum. It is slightly variable, by about 0.05 magnitude.
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