What is an asterism as it relates to astronomy?
In astronomy, an asterism is a pattern of stars seen in Earth’s sky which is not an official constellation. Like constellations, they are composed of stars which, while they are in the same general direction, are not physically related, often being at significantly different distances from Earth. An asterism may be composed of stars from one or more constellations. Their mostly simple shapes and few stars make these patterns easy to identify, and thus particularly useful to those just learning to orient themselves when viewing the night sky. Contents [hide] * 1 Background * 2 Large seasonal asterisms * 3 Other examples o 3.1 Constellation aliases o 3.2 Sectional asterisms o 3.3 Non-sectional asterisms o 3.4 Cross-border groups o 3.5 Telescopic patterns * 4 Former asterisms * 5 Non-asterisms * 6 See also * 7 Notes * 8 References [edit] Background Even before the dawn of civilization, it became common to clump various stars together in connect-the-dots stick-figure patterns. The grouping
In astronomy, an asterism is a pattern of stars seen in Earth’s sky which is not an official constellation. Like constellations, they are composed of stars which, while they are in the same general direction, are not physically related, often being at significantly different distances from Earth. An asterism may be composed of stars from one or more constellations. Their mostly simple shapes and few stars make these patterns easy to identify, and thus particularly useful to those just learning to orient themselves when viewing the night sky. Contents [hide] * 1 Background * 2 Large seasonal asterisms * 3 Other examples o 3.1 Constellation aliases o 3.2 Sectional asterisms o 3.3 Non-sectional asterisms o 3.4 Cross-border groups o 3.5 Telescopic patterns * 4 Former asterisms * 5 Non-asterisms * 6 See also * 7 Notes * 8 References [edit] Background Even before the dawn of civilization, it became common to clump various stars together in connect-the-dots stick-figure patterns. The grouping
In astronomy, an asterism is a pattern of stars seen in Earth’s sky which is not an official constellation. Like constellations, they are composed of stars which, while they are in the same general direction, are not physically related, often being at significantly different distances from Earth. An asterism may be composed of stars from one or more constellations. Their mostly simple shapes and few stars make these patterns easy to identify, and thus particularly useful to those just learning to orient themselves when viewing the night sky. Undoubtedly, the best-known asterism is the Big Dipper or Plough. Composed of the seven brightest stars in Ursa Major, where they delineate the Bear’s hindquarters and exaggerated tail, the Dipper is often the first grouping of stars shown to beginners in the Northern Hemisphere. Sources: http://en.wikipedia.
