Hamal — Star in Aries

Hamal is the brightest star in Aries, an orange giant of spectral type K2III located about 66 light-years from Earth. At magnitude 2.0, it has a luminosity roughly 91 times that of the Sun and a diameter about 15 times solar. Hamal is known to host a giant exoplanet (Alpha Arietis b) discovered in 2011, with a mass of at least 1.8 Jupiter masses orbiting at about 1.2 AU.

Hamal is the brightest of a modest trio of stars forming the head of Aries, located between the Pleiades cluster and the Great Square of Pegasus. Its warm orange color is noticeable to the naked eye and quite attractive in binoculars. Best observed in the evening sky from October through February. As the brightest star in an otherwise faint constellation, it serves as the primary landmark for finding Aries.

The name Hamal derives from the Arabic 'al-hamal,' meaning 'the ram.' Around 2000 BC, the vernal equinox lay near Hamal, making Aries the first sign of the zodiac — a position it held for about two millennia. The precession of the equinoxes has since moved the vernal point into Pisces, but Aries is still traditionally listed as the first zodiac sign.