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'Gamma Arietis' (γ Ari / γ Arietis) is a triple star system in constellation Aries. It also has the traditional name 'Mesarthim', which means "the First Star in Aries" in Sanskrit. Mesarthim is 204 light years distant.
The system is composed of a binary star with components separated with an angular distance of 7.7 arcseconds (separable in small telescopes). Both components are white A-type main sequence stars and have apparent magnitudes of +4.75 and +4.83. The brighter is known as 'γ² Arietis' and the dimmer 'γ¹ Arietis'. The orbital period of the binary is greater than 5000 years. Orbiting the binary is 'γ Arietis C', a magnitude +9.6 K-type star located 221 arcseconds distant.
The brightest component, γ² Arietis, is classified as an Alpha2 Canum Venaticorum type variable star and its brightness varies by 0.04 magnitudes with a period of 2.61 days.