Hamal

Its story

Hamal is the Alpha of Aries, the head of the celestial ram — its Arabic name «raʾs al-ḥamal» means exactly that. More than two thousand years ago it marked the spring equinox, lending its position to the «vernal point» that precession has since carried elsewhere. An orange K-class giant some 66 light-years away, it is an ageing star that has begun to swell and cool to the warm tone of a distant flame.