Hamal

Hamal, , is a star in the northernzodiacalconstellation of Aries. It has the Bayer designationAlpha Arietis, which is Latinized from α Arietis and abbreviated Alpha Ari or α Ari. This star is visible to the naked eye with an apparent visual magnitude of 2.0. Hamal is the brightest star in the constellation and, on average, the 50th-brightest star in the night sky. Based upon parallax measurements made with the Hipparcosastrometry satellite, Hamal is about 65.8 light-years (20.2 parsecs) from Earth. It is drifting closer to the Sun with a radial velocity of −14 km/s.

This is an aging giant star that is likely to host an orbiting planet with a mass greater than Jupiter.