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 88constellations. 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.[1][2] 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.
A picture of stars, with a group of appearingly bright blue and white stars. The bright stars together are identified as the asterism Coathanger resembling a coathanger, in the constellation Vulpecula.
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 asterisms at the same time.
In many early civilizations, it was already common to associate groups of stars in connect-the-dotsstick-figure patterns; some of the earliest records are those of ancient India in the Vedanga Jyotisha and the Babylonians.[citation needed] This process was essentially arbitrary, and different cultures have identified different constellations, although a few of the more obvious patterns tend to appear in the constellations of multiple cultures, such as those of Orion and Scorpius. As anyone could arrange and name a grouping of stars there was no distinct difference between a constellation and an asterism. e.g. Pliny the Elder (23–79 AD) in his book Naturalis Historia refers and mentions 72 asterisms.[3]
A general list containing 48 constellations likely began to develop with the astronomer Hipparchus (c. 190 – c. 120 BC ), and was mostly accepted as standard in Europe for 1,800 years. As constellations were considered to be composed only of the stars that constituted the figure, it was always possible to use any leftover stars to create and squeeze in a new grouping among the established constellations.[citation needed]
Furthermore, exploration by Europeans to other parts of the globe exposed them to stars unknown to them. Two astronomers particularly known for greatly expanding the number of southern constellations were Johann Bayer (1572–1625) and Nicolas Louis de Lacaille (1713–1762). Bayer had listed twelve figures made out of stars that were too far south for Ptolemy to have seen; Lacaille created 14 new groups, mostly for the area surrounding South Celestial Pole. Many of these proposed constellations have been formally accepted, but the rest have historically remained as asterisms.[citation needed]
In 1928, the International Astronomical Union (IAU) precisely divided the sky into 88 official constellations following geometric boundaries encompassing all of the stars within them. Any additional new selected groupings of stars or former constellations are often considered as asterisms. However, depending on the particular literature source, any technical distinctions between the terms 'constellation' and 'asterism' often remain somewhat ambiguous.[citation needed]
Asterisms consisting of first-magnitude stars
Some asterims consist completely of bright first-magnitude stars, which mark out simple geometric shapes.
The Summer Triangle of Deneb, Altair, and Vega – α Cygni, α Aquilae, and α Lyrae – is prominent in the northern hemisphere summer skies, as its three stars are all of the 1st magnitude.[4] The stars of the Triangle are in the band of the Milky Way which marks the galactic equator, and are in the direction of the galactic center.
Part of the Winter Hexagon the Winter Triangle is visible in the northern sky's winter and comprises the first magnitude stars Procyon, Betelgeuse and Sirius.
The Great Diamond consisting of Arcturus, Spica, Denebola and Cor Caroli, the latter two not being first-magnitude stars.[7] An east-west line from Arcturus to Denebola forms an equilateral triangle with Cor Caroli to the North, and another with Spica to the South. Together these two triangles form the Diamond. Formally, the stars of the Diamond are in the constellations Boötes, Virgo, Leo, and Canes Venatici.
Other asterisms consist partially of multiple first-magnitude stars.
The Big Dipper, also known as The Plough or Charles's Wain, is composed of the seven brightest stars in Ursa Major.[5] These stars delineate the Bear's hindquarters and exaggerated tail, or alternatively, the "handle" forming the upper outline of the bear's head and neck. With its longer tail, Ursa Minor hardly appears bearlike at all, and is widely known by its pseudonym, the Little Dipper.
The Southern Cross is an asterism by name, but the whole area is now recognised as the constellation Crux. The main stars are Alpha, Beta, Gamma, Delta, and arguably also Epsilon Crucis. Earlier, Crux was deemed an asterism when Bayer created it in Uranometria (1603) from the stars in the hind legs of Centaurus, decreasing the size of Centaur. These same stars were probably identified by Pliny the Elder in his Naturalis Historia as the asterism 'Thronos Caesaris.'[3]
The Fish Hook is the traditional Hawaiian name for Scorpius. The image will be even more obvious if the chart's lines from Antares (α Sco) to Beta Scorpii (β Sco) and Pi Scorpii (π Sco) are replaced with a line from Beta through Delta Scorpii (δ Sco) to Pi forming a large capped "J." Adding vertical lines to connect the limbs at the left and right in the main diagram of Hercules will complete the figure of the Butterfly.[8]
Boötes is sometimes known as the Ice Cream Cone.[9] It is also known as the Kite.[10]
The stars of Cassiopeia form a W which is often used as a nickname.[11]
The Great Square of Pegasus is the quadrilateral formed by the stars Markab, Scheat, Algenib, and Alpheratz, representing the body of the winged horse.[12] The asterism was recognized as the constellation ASH.IKU "The Field" on the MUL.APINcuneiform tablets from about 1100 to 700 BC.[13]
The Bowl of Virgo is formed by the stars Beta, Gamma, Delta, Epsilon and Eta Virginis. Together with Spica, they form a Y shape.
The Three Leaps of the Gazelle consists of three pairs of stars in Ursa Major aligned in a row spanning about 30 degrees. In Arabic lore, the star pairs are pictured as the hoof prints of a gazelle startled from a pond by Leo the lion. (The "pond" is pictured as the Coma Star Cluster.) The first pair of stars are Xi and Nu, second pair Upsilon and Lambda, third pair Kappa and Iota Ursa Majoris. The pairs also mark three of the bear's paws.
Some asterisms refer to portions of traditional constellation figures. These include:
The Water Jar or Urn of Aquarius is a Y-shaped figure centered upon Zeta Aquarii and includes Gamma, Eta and Pi. It pours water in a stream of more than 20 stars terminating with the star Fomalhaut.
The Crab Breast of Cancer is a quadrilateral formed by the four stars Gamma, Delta, Eta and Theta Cancri which make up the carapace (inner shell) of the Crab. Contained within is the Beehive Cluster which includes Epsilon Cancri.
The Snake Head is the westernmost portion of Hydra consisting of the stars Delta, Epsilon, Zeta, Eta, Rho and Sigma Hydrae.
The Bull's Face of Taurus is a V-shaped figure formed by prominent members of the Hyades cluster, including stars Gamma, Delta¹, Delta², Delta³, Epsilon, Theta Tauri, as well as the bright star Alpha Tauri (Aldebaran) which forms the red eye of the Bull.
Other particular asterisms
The "Teapot" asterism in Sagittarius. The Milky Way appears as "steam" coming from the spout.
Other asterisms are also composed of stars from one constellation, but do not refer to the traditional figures.
The Saucepan or Pot, being the same stars as the Belt and Sword of Orion. The end of the handle is at ι Orionis, with the far rim at η Orionis.[citation needed]
The four central stars in Hercules, Epsilon (ε Her), Zeta (ζ Her), Eta (η Her), and Pi (π Her), form the Keystone.[4]
The curve of stars at the front end of the Lion from Epsilon (ε Leo) to Regulus (α Leo), looking much like a mirror-image question mark, has long been known as the Sickle.[5]
Just south of Pegasus, the western fish of Pisces is home to the Circlet formed from Gamma (γ Piscium), Kappa (κ Piscium), Lambda (λ Piscium), TX Piscium, Iota (ι Piscium), and Theta (θ Piscium).[4][5]
Dubhe and Merak (Alpha and Beta Ursae Majoris), the two stars at the end of the bowl of the Big Dipper are often called the Pointers:[17] a line from β to α and continued for about five times the distance between them arrives at the North Celestial Pole and the star Polaris (α UMi/Alpha Ursae Minoris), the North Star.
Rigil Kentaurus (α Centauri) and Hadar (β Centauri) are the Southern Pointers leading to the Southern Cross[18] and thus helping to distinguish Crux from the False Cross.
Asterisms across multiple constellations
Other asterisms that are formed from stars in more than one constellation.
The Egyptian X is a large asterism which, like the Diamond of Virgo, is composed of a pair of equilateral triangles. Sirius (α CMa), Procyon (α CMi), and Betelgeuse (α Ori) form one to the North (Winter Triangle) while Sirius, Naos (ζ Pup), and Phakt (α Col) form another to the South. Unlike the Diamond, however, these triangles meet, not base-to-base, but vertex-to-vertex. The name derives from both the shape and, because the stars straddle the Celestial Equator, it is more easily seen from south of the Mediterranean than in Europe.[citation needed]
The diamond-shaped False Cross is composed of the four stars Alsephina (δ Velorum), Markeb (κ Velorum), Avior (ε Carinae), and Aspidiske (ι Carinae).[14] Although its component stars are not quite as bright as those of the Southern Cross, it is somewhat larger and better shaped than the Southern Cross, for which it is sometimes mistaken, causing errors in astronavigation. Like the Southern Cross, three of its main four stars are whitish and one orange.[19]
From latitudes above 40 degrees north especially, a prominent upper-case Y is formed by Arcturus (α Boötis), Seginus (γ Boötis) and Izar (ε Boötis), and Alphecca (α Coronae Borealis). Alphecca is far brighter than either Delta or Beta Boötis, diminishing the "kite" or "ice-cream cone" shape of Boötes. From the United Kingdom in particular, where there is serious light pollution in many areas and also twilight all night for much of the time these constellations appear, this "Y" is often visible while the other stars of Boötes and Corona Borealis are not.[citation needed]
The Lightning Bolt, aligned north to south, consists of the stars Epsilon Pegasi, Alpha Aquarii, Beta Aquarii and Delta Capricorni. Easily visible to naked eyes even in light polluted skies, the asterism is useful for orienting among three constellations.
The Serpent Bowl is a large curved asterism spanning 3.5 hours of right ascension, from mid-northern latitudes best seen in July and August evenings. From west to east, it includes the stars Delta, Alpha and Epsilon Serpentis, Delta, Epsilon, Upsilon, Zeta and Eta Ophiuchi, Xi Serpentis, Nu and Tau Ophiuchi, Eta and Theta Serpentis.
The Eagle Tail Corona is a flattened semioval figure in the tail of Aquila and extending into Scutum. It consists of the stars 14, 15, Lambda and 12 Aquilae, Eta Scuti, HD 174208, R and Beta Scuti. The compact open cluster Messier 11 is also aligned with the curve.
Telescopic asterisms
The "37" or "LE" of NGC 2169, in Orion. It is visible with binoculars.
Asterisms range from the large and obvious to the small, and even telescopic.
^AstronomyOnline: Image of Cassiopeia, Square of Pegasus, The Circlet, and Y of Aquarius, Astronomyonline.org
^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.
^ ab"Starry Night Photography – Southern Cross, False Cross & Diamond Cross". Southernskyphoto.com. Retrieved 10 March 2019.
asterism, astronomy, asterism, observed, pattern, group, stars, asterisms, identified, pattern, group, stars, therefore, more, general, concept, than, formally, defined, constellations, constellations, based, asterisms, unlike, asterisms, constellations, outli. 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 1 2 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 A picture of stars with a group of appearingly bright blue and white stars The bright stars together are identified as the asterism Coathanger resembling a coathanger in the constellation Vulpecula 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 asterisms at the same time Contents 1 Background of asterisms and constellations 2 Asterisms consisting of first magnitude stars 3 Constellation based asterisms 4 Other particular asterisms 5 Asterisms across multiple constellations 6 Telescopic asterisms 7 See also 8 References 9 Bibliography 10 External linksBackground of asterisms and constellations EditIn many early civilizations it was already common to associate groups of stars in connect the dots stick figure patterns some of the earliest records are those of ancient India in the Vedanga Jyotisha and the Babylonians citation needed This process was essentially arbitrary and different cultures have identified different constellations although a few of the more obvious patterns tend to appear in the constellations of multiple cultures such as those of Orion and Scorpius As anyone could arrange and name a grouping of stars there was no distinct difference between a constellation and an asterism e g Pliny the Elder 23 79 AD in his book Naturalis Historia refers and mentions 72 asterisms 3 A general list containing 48 constellations likely began to develop with the astronomer Hipparchus c 190 c 120 BC and was mostly accepted as standard in Europe for 1 800 years As constellations were considered to be composed only of the stars that constituted the figure it was always possible to use any leftover stars to create and squeeze in a new grouping among the established constellations citation needed Furthermore exploration by Europeans to other parts of the globe exposed them to stars unknown to them Two astronomers particularly known for greatly expanding the number of southern constellations were Johann Bayer 1572 1625 and Nicolas Louis de Lacaille 1713 1762 Bayer had listed twelve figures made out of stars that were too far south for Ptolemy to have seen Lacaille created 14 new groups mostly for the area surrounding South Celestial Pole Many of these proposed constellations have been formally accepted but the rest have historically remained as asterisms citation needed In 1928 the International Astronomical Union IAU precisely divided the sky into 88 official constellations following geometric boundaries encompassing all of the stars within them Any additional new selected groupings of stars or former constellations are often considered as asterisms However depending on the particular literature source any technical distinctions between the terms constellation and asterism often remain somewhat ambiguous citation needed Asterisms consisting of first magnitude stars EditSome asterims consist completely of bright first magnitude stars which mark out simple geometric shapes The Summer Triangle of Deneb Altair and Vega a Cygni a Aquilae and a Lyrae is prominent in the northern hemisphere summer skies as its three stars are all of the 1st magnitude 4 The stars of the Triangle are in the band of the Milky Way which marks the galactic equator and are in the direction of the galactic center The Winter Hexagon includes seven of the twenty two first magnitude stars visible in the sky with Pollux Capella Aldebaran Rigel Sirius and Procyon the second and fourth closest star visible without aid and with the 2nd magnitude Castor on the periphery and Betelgeuse off center 4 It is also known as the Heavenly G 5 It encircles the galactic anticenter as well as incorporates constellations such as Gemini and Orion It also includes in the background of Aldebaran the Hyades the nearest star cluster and one of five first magnitude deep sky objects two of which can be seen just north east of the Hyades the Pleiades also in the Taurus constellation and the Alpha Persei Cluster with Alcyone and Mirfak as the brightest stars Part of the Winter Hexagon the Winter Triangle is visible in the northern sky s winter and comprises the first magnitude stars Procyon Betelgeuse and Sirius The Spring Triangle consists of Arcturus Regulus and Spica 6 The Great Diamond consisting of Arcturus Spica Denebola and Cor Caroli the latter two not being first magnitude stars 7 An east west line from Arcturus to Denebola forms an equilateral triangle with Cor Caroli to the North and another with Spica to the South Together these two triangles form the Diamond Formally the stars of the Diamond are in the constellations Bootes Virgo Leo and Canes Venatici Other asterisms consist partially of multiple first magnitude stars The Southern Cross including the first magnitude stars Acrux and Mimosa west of the Carina Nebula one of five first magnitude deep sky objects and with the first magnitude stars Alpha Centauri the closest star to the Sun and Beta Centauri pointing at the cross distinguishing the cross from less bright and similar asterisms like the Diamond Cross or False Cross All other first magnitude stars are the only such stars in their asterisms or constellations with Canopus in the Argo Navis asterism south of Sirius visually east of the Carina Nebula and near the Large Magellanic Cloud both being first magnitude deep sky objects Achernar in the Eridanus constellation east of Canopus Fomalhaut in the Southern Fish constellation east of Achernar and Antares in the Scorpius constellation visually near the Galactic Center Some major asterisms on a celestial map the projection exaggerates the stretching Constellation based asterisms Edit The Big Dipper asterism The Big Dipper also known as The Plough or Charles s Wain is composed of the seven brightest stars in Ursa Major 5 These stars delineate the Bear s hindquarters and exaggerated tail or alternatively the handle forming the upper outline of the bear s head and neck With its longer tail Ursa Minor hardly appears bearlike at all and is widely known by its pseudonym the Little Dipper The Northern Cross in Cygnus 4 The upright runs from Deneb a Cyg in the Swan s tail to Albireo b Cyg in the beak The transverse runs from e Cygni in one wing to d Cygni in the other The Southern Cross is an asterism by name but the whole area is now recognised as the constellation Crux The main stars are Alpha Beta Gamma Delta and arguably also Epsilon Crucis Earlier Crux was deemed an asterism when Bayer created it in Uranometria 1603 from the stars in the hind legs of Centaurus decreasing the size of Centaur These same stars were probably identified by Pliny the Elder in his Naturalis Historia as the asterism Thronos Caesaris 3 The Fish Hook is the traditional Hawaiian name for Scorpius The image will be even more obvious if the chart s lines from Antares a Sco to Beta Scorpii b Sco and Pi Scorpii p Sco are replaced with a line from Beta through Delta Scorpii d Sco to Pi forming a large capped J Adding vertical lines to connect the limbs at the left and right in the main diagram of Hercules will complete the figure of the Butterfly 8 Bootes is sometimes known as the Ice Cream Cone 9 It is also known as the Kite 10 The stars of Cassiopeia form a W which is often used as a nickname 11 The Great Square of Pegasus is the quadrilateral formed by the stars Markab Scheat Algenib and Alpheratz representing the body of the winged horse 12 The asterism was recognized as the constellation ASH IKU The Field on the MUL APIN cuneiform tablets from about 1100 to 700 BC 13 The Bowl of Virgo is formed by the stars Beta Gamma Delta Epsilon and Eta Virginis Together with Spica they form a Y shape The Three Leaps of the Gazelle consists of three pairs of stars in Ursa Major aligned in a row spanning about 30 degrees In Arabic lore the star pairs are pictured as the hoof prints of a gazelle startled from a pond by Leo the lion The pond is pictured as the Coma Star Cluster The first pair of stars are Xi and Nu second pair Upsilon and Lambda third pair Kappa and Iota Ursa Majoris The pairs also mark three of the bear s paws Some asterisms refer to portions of traditional constellation figures These include The Water Jar or Urn of Aquarius is a Y shaped figure centered upon Zeta Aquarii and includes Gamma Eta and Pi It pours water in a stream of more than 20 stars terminating with the star Fomalhaut The Crab Breast of Cancer is a quadrilateral formed by the four stars Gamma Delta Eta and Theta Cancri which make up the carapace inner shell of the Crab Contained within is the Beehive Cluster which includes Epsilon Cancri The Snake Head is the westernmost portion of Hydra consisting of the stars Delta Epsilon Zeta Eta Rho and Sigma Hydrae Orion s Belt consists of the three bright stars Zeta Alnitak Epsilon Alnilam and Delta Orionis Mintaka which form the belt of Orion The Bull s Face of Taurus is a V shaped figure formed by prominent members of the Hyades cluster including stars Gamma Delta Delta Delta Epsilon Theta Tauri as well as the bright star Alpha Tauri Aldebaran which forms the red eye of the Bull Other particular asterisms Edit The Teapot asterism in Sagittarius The Milky Way appears as steam coming from the spout Other asterisms are also composed of stars from one constellation but do not refer to the traditional figures Four other stars Beta Upsilon Theta and Omega Carinae form a well shaped diamond the Diamond Cross 14 The Saucepan or Pot being the same stars as the Belt and Sword of Orion The end of the handle is at i Orionis with the far rim at h Orionis citation needed The four central stars in Hercules Epsilon e Her Zeta z Her Eta h Her and Pi p Her form the Keystone 4 The curve of stars at the front end of the Lion from Epsilon e Leo to Regulus a Leo looking much like a mirror image question mark has long been known as the Sickle 5 The brighter stars of Sagittarius make the Teapot 15 The Large Sagittarius Star Cloud appears to be steam emerging from the spout Four bright stars in Delphinus Sualocin or a Delphini Rotanev or b Delphini g Delphini and d Delphini form Job s Coffin 5 The Terebellum is a small quadrilateral of four faint stars Omega 59 60 62 in Sagittarius hindquarters 16 Just south of Pegasus the western fish of Pisces is home to the Circlet formed from Gamma g Piscium Kappa k Piscium Lambda l Piscium TX Piscium Iota i Piscium and Theta 8 Piscium 4 5 Dubhe and Merak Alpha and Beta Ursae Majoris the two stars at the end of the bowl of the Big Dipper are often called the Pointers 17 a line from b to a and continued for about five times the distance between them arrives at the North Celestial Pole and the star Polaris a UMi Alpha Ursae Minoris the North Star Rigil Kentaurus a Centauri and Hadar b Centauri are the Southern Pointers leading to the Southern Cross 18 and thus helping to distinguish Crux from the False Cross Asterisms across multiple constellations EditOther asterisms that are formed from stars in more than one constellation The Egyptian X is a large asterism which like the Diamond of Virgo is composed of a pair of equilateral triangles Sirius a CMa Procyon a CMi and Betelgeuse a Ori form one to the North Winter Triangle while Sirius Naos z Pup and Phakt a Col form another to the South Unlike the Diamond however these triangles meet not base to base but vertex to vertex The name derives from both the shape and because the stars straddle the Celestial Equator it is more easily seen from south of the Mediterranean than in Europe citation needed The Lozenge is a small diamond formed from three stars Eltanin Grumium and Rastaban Gamma Xi and Beta Draconis in the head of Draco and one Iota Herculis in the foot of Hercules citation needed The diamond shaped False Cross is composed of the four stars Alsephina d Velorum Markeb k Velorum Avior e Carinae and Aspidiske i Carinae 14 Although its component stars are not quite as bright as those of the Southern Cross it is somewhat larger and better shaped than the Southern Cross for which it is sometimes mistaken causing errors in astronavigation Like the Southern Cross three of its main four stars are whitish and one orange 19 From latitudes above 40 degrees north especially a prominent upper case Y is formed by Arcturus a Bootis Seginus g Bootis and Izar e Bootis and Alphecca a Coronae Borealis Alphecca is far brighter than either Delta or Beta Bootis diminishing the kite or ice cream cone shape of Bootes From the United Kingdom in particular where there is serious light pollution in many areas and also twilight all night for much of the time these constellations appear this Y is often visible while the other stars of Bootes and Corona Borealis are not citation needed The Lightning Bolt aligned north to south consists of the stars Epsilon Pegasi Alpha Aquarii Beta Aquarii and Delta Capricorni Easily visible to naked eyes even in light polluted skies the asterism is useful for orienting among three constellations The Serpent Bowl is a large curved asterism spanning 3 5 hours of right ascension from mid northern latitudes best seen in July and August evenings From west to east it includes the stars Delta Alpha and Epsilon Serpentis Delta Epsilon Upsilon Zeta and Eta Ophiuchi Xi Serpentis Nu and Tau Ophiuchi Eta and Theta Serpentis The Eagle Tail Corona is a flattened semioval figure in the tail of Aquila and extending into Scutum It consists of the stars 14 15 Lambda and 12 Aquilae Eta Scuti HD 174208 R and Beta Scuti The compact open cluster Messier 11 is also aligned with the curve Telescopic asterisms Edit The 37 or LE of NGC 2169 in Orion It is visible with binoculars Asterisms range from the large and obvious to the small and even telescopic The 37 or LE of NGC 2169 in Orion 20 The Engagement Ring in Ursa Minor has the north star Polaris as the diamond at one end of a ring of much fainter stars about one degree across 21 The Broken Engagement Ring in Ursa Major at 10 51 56 10 preceding b Ursae Majoris Merak 22 The Christmas Tree shape of the Christmas Tree Cluster in Monoceros It is made up of about approximately 40 stars 23 The Coathanger in Vulpecula also known as Brocchi s Cluster see image at top 24 Kemble s Cascade a chain of stars that ends in open cluster NGC 1502 in Camelopardalis 24 Napoleon s Hat Picot 1 in Bootes south of a Bootis Arcturus citation needed The Ring of the Nibelungen Ferrero 27 in Draco named after the 1857 German epic drama at 15 57 62 32 near galaxy NGC 6015 25 26 The V shaped Messier 73 in Aquarius determined to be an asterism in 2002 27 See also EditAustralian Aboriginal astronomy Chinese constellation NakshatraReferences Edit An Etymological Dictionary of Astronomy and Astrophysics asterism Dictionary obspm fr January 2018 An Etymological Dictionary of Astronomy and Astrophysics constellation Dictionary obspm fr January 2018 a b Allen Richard H 1899 Star Names Their Lore and Meaning Dover Publication pp 11 184 185 ISBN 978 0 486 21079 7 a b c d e Grilley Michael 31 August 2018 Table of Asterisms wro org Archived from the original on 31 August 2018 Retrieved 11 May 2022 a b c d e Asterisms 14 February 2010 Archived from the original on 2010 02 14 Retrieved 10 March 2019 Spring triangle at Space com Accessed March 2011 AstronomyOnline Image of Big Dipper Diamond of Virgo The Sail Sickle and Asses and the Manger Astronomyonline org Space com Hercules See the Celestial Strongman Archived May 23 2009 at the Wayback Machine History of the Constellations Bootes Archived May 12 2011 at the Wayback Machine Astronomy Online View Images Template Astronomyonline org Retrieved 10 March 2019 Astronomy Online View Images Template Astronomyonline org Retrieved 10 March 2019 AstronomyOnline Image of Cassiopeia Square of Pegasus The Circlet and Y of Aquarius Astronomyonline org 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 a b Starry Night Photography Southern Cross False Cross amp Diamond Cross Southernskyphoto com Retrieved 10 March 2019 Astronomy Online View Images Template Astronomyonline org Retrieved 10 March 2019 LacusCurtius Allen s Star Names Sagittarius Penelope uchicago edu Retrieved 10 March 2019 Darling David Ursa Major Daviddarling info Retrieved 10 March 2019 Darling David Centaurus Daviddarling info Retrieved 10 March 2019 Moore Patrick 2010 Patrick Moore s Astronomy Teach Yourself Hachette ISBN 978 1444129779 Constellation Guide Orion Constellation accessed 2014 03 03 Chaple Glenn May 2019 Spot the ring that hides in the Little Dipper Astronomy Asterisms Broken Engagement Ring Retrieved 2020 09 11 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 Backyard astro com Archived from the original on 2 October 2018 Retrieved 10 March 2019 a b Asterisms Deep sky co uk Retrieved 10 March 2019 French Sue June 2017 Deep Sky Wonders Doodles in the Sky Sky amp Telescope 56 Mon catalogue d amas d etoiles Splendeurs du ciel profond Retrieved 2020 05 27 M Odenkirchen amp C Soubiran 2002 NGC 6994 Clearly not a physical stellar ensemble Astronomy amp Astrophysics 383 1 163 170 arXiv astro ph 0111601 Bibcode 2002A amp A 383 163O doi 10 1051 0004 6361 20011730 S2CID 15545816 Bibliography EditAllen Richard Hinckley 1969 Star Names Their Lore and Meaning Dover Publications Inc Reprint of 1899 original ISBN 0 486 21079 0 Burnham Robert 1978 Burnham s Celestial Handbook 3 vols Dover Publications Inc ISBN 0 486 23567 X 0 486 23568 8 0 486 23673 0 Pasachoff Jay M 2000 A Field Guide to the Stars and Planets 4th ed Houghton Mifflin Co ISBN 0 395 93431 1External links EditList of Asterisms from deep sky co uk Discussion of Asterisms List of Asterisms from deepsky waarnemen com List of Asterisms from nightskyatlas com List of Asterisms from saguaroastro org List of Asterisms from waynesthisandthat com Portals Astronomy Stars Outer space Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Asterism astronomy amp oldid 1132535193, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
