Editing Hamal (section)

==In culture==
Hamal's orientation with relation to the Earth's orbit around the [[Sun]] gives it a certain importance not apparent from its modest brightness. Between 2000 and 100 [[BCE]], the apparent path of the Sun through the Earth's sky placed it in Aries at the [[northern vernal equinox]], the point in time marking the start of [[spring (season)|spring]] in the [[Northern Hemisphere]].<ref name=ecs/> This is why most [[astrology]] columns in modern newspapers begin with Aries.<ref name=raymo1982/> While the vernal equinox has moved to [[Pisces (constellation)|Pisces]] since then due to [[precession of the equinoxes]],<ref name=ecs/> Hamal has remained in mind as a bright star near what was apparently an important place when people first studied the night sky.<ref name=kaler/> Currently (epoch J2000) its [[declination]] is almost exactly equal to the [[latitude]] of the [[Tropic of Cancer]], meaning it can be used to find the position of that imaginary line when the Sun is not nearby.

The other name of Hamal, ''Hamul'', was used for the name of a [[U.S. Navy]] ship, {{USS|Hamul}}.

In 1953, fictional planet orbiting Alpha Arietis, named Lithia, appeared in [[A Case of Conscience]], a classic science fiction novel by [[James Blish]]. The planet serves as the arena of the major part of the story, being a homeworld to a fictional sentient race, being studied by humans. Real-life equivalent of Lithia was unknown at the time of the novel's creation.