Check out the gorgeous, youthful moon as it returns to the evening sky tonight, January 30, 2017. It can be found shortly after sunset in the west, close below the brilliant planet Venus. As the sky darkens, another “star” that isn’t really a star will appear above Venus. Mars is a different planet.
Identifying the planets Venus and Mars is a lot of fun. You can also picture the First Point of Aries on the sky’s dome using this waxing crescent moon and these planets. The First Point of Aries is roughly halfway between Venus and Mars on this night. On the sky chart above, you can see it. The green line, by the way, is the ecliptic, which depicts the sun’s annual motion in front of the zodiac constellations.
On the March equinox, the sun crosses both the celestial (or prime) meridian and the celestial equator. On the celestial sphere, the celestial meridian displays 0 hours of right ascension, with this semicircle reaching from the north celestial pole to the south celestial pole. The equator of the Earth is projected onto the celestial sphere as the celestial equator. The First Point of Aries is marked by the meeting of the prime celestial meridian and the celestial equator (0 hours right ascension and 0o declination).
The celestial sphere’s right ascension corresponds to longitude on Earth, and the celestial sphere’s declination corresponds to latitude on Earth. The chart below depicts the First Point of Aries in greater detail.
To conclude, on the March equinox, the First Point of Aries marks the position of the sun in front of the zodiac’s backdrop stars. The First Point of Aries is the zero point in the imaginary grid on the dome of the sky that astronomers use to define star (and planet) placements.
You could see the March equinox sun near the First Point of Aries if you could see the stars throughout the day. It is one of two points on our sky’s dome where the ecliptic intersects the celestial equator on the celestial or stellar sphere, rather than an arbitrary point. The celestial equator is a projection of the Earth’s equator onto the immense dome of sky, whereas the ecliptic displays the sun’s annual motion in front of the zodiac constellations.
On the March equinox, the First Point in Aries is in front of the constellation Pisces at our time. See where the First Point of Aries is in front of the zodiac’s backdrop stars in the chart below of the constellation Pisces.
Although they aren’t visible in the image below, Mars and Venus are also in front of Pisces on January 30, 2017.
In the western sky after sunset on January 30, 2017, the waxing crescent moon is below bright Venus in the western sky. In the west, the planet Mars is slightly above Venus. If you can identify Venus and Mars on this night, they can lead you to the first Point of Aries.
In This Article...
What constellation is Aries’ First Point?
The starting position for measuring the Sun’s velocity across the celestial sphere is chosen at random. The equinoxes are favoured because they mark the time when the Sun crosses the celestial equator and has neither northern nor southern declination. The ancient Greeks chose the March equinox as the beginning point out of the two available equinoxes. This was about the time of Hilaria’s celebration, a time of hope and new beginnings when farmers began to sow or saw the first signs of growth and blossoming of trees and summer crops. The name of Aries comes late in the Babylonian zodiac, where the equinox was first established by genuine coincidence with the Pleiades in the early Middle Bronze Age. Sanguia, the time of castration of male calves, mules, and donkeys, occurred on the vernal equinox and signified the beginning of spring.
The First Point of Aries was named after Hipparchus, who identified it around 130 BCE in the westernmost part of the constellation Aries, near its boundary with Pisces and the star Arietis. The western end of Aries was the point at which the Sun entered the constellation due to the Sun’s eastward migration across the sky throughout the year, hence the name First Point of Aries.
Are you an Aries or a Pisces?
Babylonian astronomers split the ecliptic into 12 equal “signs” at the end of the 5th century BC, analogous to 12 schematic months of 30 days each. The first known celestial coordinate system was created when each sign contained 30 degrees of celestial longitude. According to contemporary astronomical estimates, the zodiac was first used between 409 and 398 BC, during Persian dominance, and most likely within a few years of 401 BC. Unlike modern astrologers, who place the beginning of the sign of Aries at the position of the Sun at the Northern Hemisphere’s vernal equinox (March equinox), Babylonian astronomers fixed the zodiac in relation to stars, placing the beginning of Cancer at the “Rear Twin Star” ( Geminorum) and the beginning of Aquarius at the “Rear Star of the Goat-Fish” ( Capricorni).
Since Babylonian times, the time of year when the Sun is in a certain constellation has altered due to equinox precession; the point of March equinox has moved from Aries to Pisces.
They formed an appropriate basis of reference for formulating predictions about a planet’s longitude because the divide was made into equal arcs of 30 each. However, Babylonian observational measurement techniques were still in the early stages of development. They used a group of “normal stars” near the ecliptic (9 degrees latitude) as observational reference points to help place a planet within the ecliptic coordinate system.
A planet’s location in Babylonian astrological journals was usually stated in terms of a zodiac sign alone, rather than particular degrees within a sign. When degrees of longitude were given, they were stated in relation to the 30 of the zodiacal sign, rather than the continuous 360 ecliptic. The positions of prominent astronomical phenomena were estimated in sexagesimal fractions of a degree in astronomical ephemerides (equivalent to minutes and seconds of arc). The daily locations of a planet were less important in daily ephemerides than the astrologically significant times when the planet moved from one zodiac sign to the next.
What kind of person should an Aries marry?
Libra (opposites attract), Sagittarius, and Leo are the most compatible signs for Aries in friendship and romantic relationships (fellow fire signs will speak their same passionate language).
What is the Aries zodiac sign’s age?
Many astrologers believe that ages based on the vernal point travelling through the randomly sized zodiacal constellations or the sidereal zodiac are too unstable, and instead round all astrological eras to the nearest 2000 years. The years are usually nicely matched in this method, so that the Aries age is found from 2000 BC to AD 1, the Pisces age is discovered from AD 1 to AD 2000, the Aquarian Age is found from AD 2000 to AD 4000, and so on. The precession of the equinoxes is incompatible with this method. According to the precession of the equinoxes, a one-degree change occurs every 72 years, therefore a 30-degree shift will take 2160 years to complete.
Why is Aries the first sign in the zodiac?
Initial Thoughts Jupiter in Aries, or the First House, indicates that you come on strong and make an immediate impression on those you meet. You can be confident, but other factors in your chart will moderate your confidence. Jupiter is the super-sizer, while Aries is the self-centered sign.
What makes Aries a RAM sign?
As we approach the end of March, we enter the time of year associated with the Zodiac sign Aries (March 21st – April 19th). But what does Aries stand for, and what is its significance in history?
The Ram is Aries’ symbol, and it represents initiation, daring, boldness, spontaneity, and inspiration. The animal represents a battering ram (‘Aries’ is the Latin word for ‘ram’), which uses tenacity and strength to tear through an opponent’s defenses.
Aries also denotes the start of the astrological year as well as the season shift that ushers in Spring. As we travel into Aries – a sign of immense vitality and promise for the exciting year ahead – sunlight hours increase and days get warmer, symbolising development and rejuvenation.
Ptolemy, a Greek astronomer, was the first to catalog this constellation in the second century. Aries’ tale is based on a golden ram from Greek mythology. According to legend, Aries, who was represented by a golden ram, rescued Phrixus and carried him to Colchis, where he sacrificed the ram to please the Gods. In the face of death, Phrixus was rescued by a golden ram with wings, who flew him to safety.
Aries people, like their fellow fire signs, are highly determined, passionate, and self-assured. They make excellent leaders, with the drive and ability to establish and preserve communities. Impatience, a fast loss of temper, and aggressiveness are common flaws in Aries, as they are in every fire sign.
Do you have a special someone who was born under the sign of Aries? Is there a significant date under the sign of Aries that you wish to commemorate in a distinctive way? Register a star in the constellation of Aries now for a present that will be remembered for a long time.