aries | EarthSky

Star chart of constellation Aries with star Hamal labeled. The Pleiades and Hyades clusters below.

Meet Hamal, an ancient equinox star, in Aries the Ram

Meet Hamal, the brightest star in Aries, and learn why people sometimes refer to the March equinox point as the First Point in Aries.

Sky chart showing the constellation Aries. It is formed by 3 lines and 4 dots.

Aries the Ram: Here’s your constellation

How to see Aries the Ram in your night sky with its bright star Hamal, plus info about this constellation in astronomy history and mythology.

Moon and Aries on February 21

Tonight - February 21, 2018 - watch the waxing crescent moon light up the evening sky as it dances along the southern boundary of the constellation Aries the Ram.

Space visionaries boost Pluto lander

At a NASA symposium this week, space scientists and engineers presented an exciting new concept for a lander that would explore Pluto by "hopping" across its surface.

Moon, Venus, First Point of Aries

It's where the sun resides on the March equinox, used to define the sky's prime meridian. Tonight's moon and planets can help you visualize this point on our sky's dome.

Moon near First Point in Aries

The November 10, 2016, moon is near the First Point of Aries on the sky's dome. How to spot it, and what it means.

Half of all exoplanet host stars are binaries

Yet more evidence that many worlds in our Milky Way galaxy have two suns.

Astronomers define boundaries of our home supercluster and name it Laniakea

Astronomers have learned that our Local Group of galaxies - known to be part of the Virgo Supercluster - is also part of an even-larger supercluster. The newly identified supercluster is called Laniakea, which is Hawaiian for "immense heaven."

Moon between Pleiades and Head of Aries on March 15

Tonight’s moon lies between the head of the Ram in the constellation Aries and the Pleiades star cluster.

Huge crowd of big birds flying near the ground, with multitudes already landed.

5 amazing places to see migrating birds in spring

Birding during spring migration season can be particularly rewarding. Here are 5 amazing places to see migrating birds this spring.

Man-shaped constellation with bent arms and legs, and labeled stars.

Hercules is between 2 bright stars: Vega and Arcturus

The bright stars Arcturus and Vega can help you find the constellation Hercules and its Keystone asterism. Hercules is home to 2 fabulous globular clusters.

Star chart: Lines and dots outlining animal-shaped Leo, its head at right, and star Regulus at bottom right.

Leo the Lion and its easy to see backward question mark

Leo the Lion - one of the zodiacal constellations - is a prominent fixture from April through June in the evening sky. It’s easy to spot by finding the Sickle.

Twisty, wispy blue filaments irregularly connected, making a diffuse 3D web.

DESI’s 3D map of the universe is complete!

Astronomers have completed the largest, most detailed 3D map of the universe ever made. It will help reveal how dark energy shapes the cosmos.

Seattle waterspout! What are waterspouts and how do they form?

See the Seattle waterspout that formed in Puget Sound on Wednesday. Then read more about waterspouts, which are essentially tornadoes over water.

Meteor shower guide 2026: Up next … the Eta Aquariids

Up next is the Eta Aquariid meteor shower. Watch for them before dawn on May 5. Your 2026 meteor shower guide here.

A brownish animal on a tree branch and looking down. It has sharp claws.

The tree-kangaroo lives in the hidden world of the treetops

The tree-kangaroo lives high in the rainforest canopy, leaping, climbing and revealing a surprising side of marsupial life few have seen.

2 smiling people in orange flight suits.

Artemis 2 splashdown! Astronauts return safely from historic mission

The Artemis 2 spacecraft and its 4 astronauts safely splashed down in the Pacific Ocean near California at 5:07 last night. Welcome home!

Diagram: Long, flaming jets. One goes straight out from the center; the other spirals around the center.

Supermassive black holes could merge in 100 years

For the first time, astronomers have direct evidence of a close pair of supermassive black holes in a galaxy. These black holes could merge in 100 years.

Fronts (with markings) and backs of 8 small, flat oblong objects. They are light brown.

Native Americans played dice more than 12,000 years ago

Native Americans played dice games more than 12,000 years ago. That's 6,500 years earlier than Bronze age people in the Old World did.

Orbital view of swirling clouds like a white skull with a colorful eye hole looking at you, and an aura.

Pareidolia is seeing things like faces in random objects

Seeing things such as a creepy face in satellite imagery is called pareidolia. Now, a new study says we're more likely to see angry men in random objects.

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Meet Hamal, an ancient equinox star, in Aries the Ram

Aries the Ram: Here’s your constellation

Moon and Aries on February 21

Space visionaries boost Pluto lander

Moon, Venus, First Point of Aries

Moon near First Point in Aries

Half of all exoplanet host stars are binaries

Astronomers define boundaries of our home supercluster and name it Laniakea

Moon between Pleiades and Head of Aries on March 15

5 amazing places to see migrating birds in spring

Hercules is between 2 bright stars: Vega and Arcturus

Leo the Lion and its easy to see backward question mark

DESI’s 3D map of the universe is complete!

Seattle waterspout! What are waterspouts and how do they form?

Meteor shower guide 2026: Up next … the Eta Aquariids

The tree-kangaroo lives in the hidden world of the treetops

Artemis 2 splashdown! Astronauts return safely from historic mission

Supermassive black holes could merge in 100 years

Native Americans played dice more than 12,000 years ago

Pareidolia is seeing things like faces in random objects