Two CCD epochs of light minimum and a complete R light curve of SS Ari are presented .
The light curve obtained in 2007 was analyzed with the 2003 version of the W-D code .
It is shown that SS Ari is a shallow contact binary system with a mass ratio q = 3.25 and a degree of contact factor f = 9.4 \% ( \pm 0.8 \% ) .
A period investigation based on all available data shows that there may exist two distinct solutions about the assumed third body .
One , assuming eccentric orbit of the third body and constant orbital period of the eclipsing pair results in a massive third body with M _ { 3 } = 1.73 M _ { \odot } and P _ { 3 } = 87.0 yr. On the contrary , assuming continuous period changes of the eclipsing pair the orbital period of tertiary is 37.75yr and its mass is about 0.278 M _ { \odot } .
Both of the cases suggest the presence of an unseen third component in the system .