The first infrared photometry for the W-UMa system SS Ari is presented. An analysis based on medium resolution spectroscopy presented here shows that SS Ari is a W-type system with a mass ratio of 0.33. It seems certain that the asymmetry in the published light curves and those obtained for this study can be explained by the effect of spots on one or possibly both components of the system. The precise location, size and temperature of these spots require the use of Doppler Imaging techniques in conjunction with high quality multi-band photometry.
