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HandWiki. Asterism. Encyclopedia. Available online: https://encyclopedia.pub/entry/36951 (accessed on 22 September 2026).
HandWiki. Asterism. Encyclopedia. Available at: https://encyclopedia.pub/entry/36951. Accessed September 22, 2026.
HandWiki. "Asterism" Encyclopedia, https://encyclopedia.pub/entry/36951 (accessed September 22, 2026).
HandWiki. (2022, November 29). Asterism. In Encyclopedia. https://encyclopedia.pub/entry/36951
HandWiki. "Asterism." Encyclopedia. Web. 29 November, 2022.
Asterism
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The content is sourced from: https://handwiki.org/wiki/Astronomy:Asterism

An asterism is an observed pattern or group of stars in the sky. Asterisms can be any identified pattern or group of stars, and therefore are a more general concept than the formally defined 88 constellations. Constellations are based on asterisms, but unlike asterisms, constellations outline and today completely divide the sky and all its celestial objects into regions around their central asterisms. For example, the asterism known as the Big Dipper comprises the seven brightest stars in the constellation Ursa Major. Another is the asterism of the Southern Cross, within the constellation of Crux. Asterisms range from simple shapes of just a few stars to more complex collections of many stars covering large portions of the sky. The stars themselves may be bright naked-eye objects or fainter, even telescopic, but they are generally all of a similar brightness to each other. The larger brighter asterisms are useful for people who are familiarizing themselves with the night sky. The patterns of stars seen in asterisms are not necessarily a product of any physical association between the stars, but are rather the result of the particular perspectives of their observations. For example the Summer Triangle is a purely observational physically unrelated group of stars, but the stars of Orion's Belt are all members of the Orion OB1 association and five of the seven stars of the Big Dipper are members of the Ursa Major Moving Group. Physical associations, such as the Hyades or Pleiades, can be asterisms in their own right and part of other asterism at the same time.

pleiades observational asterism

References

  1. Allen, Richard H. (1899). Star Names: Their Lore and Meaning. Dover Publication. pp. 11, 184–185. ISBN 978-0-486-21079-7. https://books.google.com/books?id=vWDsybJzz7IC. 
  2. Grilley, Michael (31 August 2018). "Table of Asterisms". http://www.wro.org/ras/asterism.htm. 
  3. "Asterisms". 14 February 2010. http://seds.org/maps/const/asterism.html. 
  4. Spring triangle at Space.com, Accessed March 2011 http://www.space.com/3909-spring-triangle.html
  5. AstronomyOnline: Image of Big Dipper, Diamond of Virgo, The Sail, Sickle, and Asses and the Manger, Astronomyonline.org http://astronomyonline.org/ViewImage.asp?Cate=Home&SubCate=MP01&SubCate2=&Img=/Observation/Images/Asterisms/Asterisms4.jpg&Cpt=Big+Dipper,+Diamond+of+Virgo,+The+Sail,+Sickle,+and+Asses+and+the+Manger
  6. Space.com: Hercules: See the Celestial Strongman http://www.space.com/spacewatch/night_sky_040716.html
  7. History of the Constellations: Bootes http://hsci.cas.ou.edu/exhibits/exhibit.php?exbgrp=3&exbid=20&exbpg=13
  8. "Astronomy Online – View Images Template". http://astronomyonline.org/ViewImage.asp?Cate=Home&SubCate=MP01&SubCate2=&Img=/Observation/Images/Asterisms/Asterisms5.jpg&Cpt=Little+Dipper,+Keystone,+Kite,+and+the+Lozenge. 
  9. "Astronomy Online – View Images Template". http://astronomyonline.org/ViewImage.asp?Cate=Home&SubCate=MP01&SubCate2=&Img=/Observation/Images/Asterisms/Asterisms2.jpg&Cpt=The+W,+Square+of+Pegasus,+Circlet,+and+Y+of+Aquarius. 
  10. AstronomyOnline: Image of Cassiopeia, Square of Pegasus, The Circlet, and Y of Aquarius, Astronomyonline.org http://astronomyonline.org/ViewImage.asp?Cate=Home&SubCate=MP01&SubCate2=&Img=/Observation/Images/Asterisms/Asterisms4.jpg&Cpt=Big+Dipper,+Diamond+of+Virgo,+The+Sail,+Sickle,+and+Asses+and+the+Manger
  11. Rogers, J. H. (1 February 1998). "Origins of the ancient constellations: I. The Mesopotamian traditions". Journal of the British Astronomical Association 108: 9–28. Bibcode: 1998JBAA..108....9R.  http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/1998JBAA..108....9R
  12. "Starry Night Photography – Southern Cross, False Cross & Diamond Cross". http://www.southernskyphoto.com/southern_sky/crosses.htm. 
  13. "Astronomy Online – View Images Template". http://astronomyonline.org/ViewImage.asp?Cate=Home&SubCate=MP01&SubCate2=&Img=/Observation/Images/Asterisms/Asterisms1.jpg&Cpt=Teapot,+Fish+Hook,+and+Bull+of+Poniatowski. 
  14. "LacusCurtius • Allen's Star Names – Sagittarius". https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Gazetteer/Topics/astronomy/_Texts/secondary/ALLSTA/Sagittarius*.html. 
  15. Darling, David. "Ursa Major". http://www.daviddarling.info/encyclopedia/U/UMa.html. 
  16. Darling, David. "Centaurus". http://www.daviddarling.info/encyclopedia/C/Cen.html. 
  17. Moore, Patrick (2010). Patrick Moore's Astronomy: Teach Yourself. Hachette. ISBN 978-1444129779. https://books.google.com/books?id=D7M0Rgc1ONAC&q=false+cross+vela&pg=PT127. 
  18. Constellation Guide, Orion Constellation (accessed 2014-03-03) http://www.constellation-guide.com/constellation-list/orion-constellation/
  19. Chaple, Glenn (May 2019). "Spot the ring that hides in the Little Dipper". Astronomy. https://astronomy.com/magazine/glenn-chaple/2019/04/spot-the-ring-that-hides-in-the-little-dipper. 
  20. "Asterisms – Broken Engagement Ring". https://www.astronomyhouston.org/hasarchive/201904. 
  21. "A star hop through Monoceros including M 50, The Christmas Tree Cluster (NGC 2264), Hubble's Variable Nebula (NGC 2261), NGC 2244, NGC 2301, The Rosette Nebula, 11 Beta Monocerotis, Harrington's Star 17 and Harrington's Star 18.". http://www.backyard-astro.com/focusonarchive/monoceros/monoceros.html. 
  22. "Asterisms". http://www.deep-sky.co.uk/asterisms.htm. 
  23. French, Sue (June 2017). "Deep Sky Wonders: Doodles in the Sky". Sky & Telescope: 56. https://skyandtelescope.com/. 
  24. "Mon catalogue d'amas d'étoiles". http://splendeursducielprofond.eklablog.fr/mon-catalogue-d-amas-d-etoiles-p563496. 
  25. M. Odenkirchen; C. Soubiran (2002). "NGC 6994: Clearly not a physical stellar ensemble". Astronomy & Astrophysics 383 (1): 163–170. doi:10.1051/0004-6361:20011730. Bibcode: 2002A&A...383..163O.  https://dx.doi.org/10.1051%2F0004-6361%3A20011730
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