October's Star is Hamal

This month look for Hamal, the brightest star of Aries the Ram. Hamal is one of the brighter stars in the sky and quite easily found, especially when the moon is located near Aries. There are four stars in the constellation or Aries, but most people only notice three of them. Astronomers give Hamal an official name of Alpha Arietis.

Hamal, which comes from the Head of the Ram in Arabic, is 66 light years away from the solar system. Hamal is a star 50% heavier than the sun and orange in color compared to the sun’s yellow color. It’s old enough to have used up its original supply of hydrogen fuel. Now that it’s becoming a red giant, the star has expanded to a diameter 15 times greater the sun’s diameter. Its surface temperature is cooler than the sun’s, but its larger size means it still radiates 91 times more light than the sun. It appears Hamal is orbited by a companion, a planet heavier than Jupiter.

Hamal is visible well in the east after dark in October.