Got all these meanings, hope they could be of help. # Printing. Three asterisks in a triangular formation used to call attention to a following passage. # Astronomy. A cluster of stars smaller than a constellation. # Mineralogy.A six-rayed starlike figure optically produced in some crystal structures by reflected or transmitted light.
There are over 88 recognized constellations in the night sky. Each constellation is made up of different stars that form recognizable patterns or shapes, known as asterisms. Some commonly recognized asterisms include the Big Dipper, Orion's Belt, and the Summer Triangle.
Either "constellations" or "asterisms".
The examples of asterisms are he BIG DIPPER AND THE NORTHERN CrOSS
Asterisms don't have magnitudes. Stars have individual magnitudes.
Actual constellations such as Leo and asterisms such as the Big Dipper and Summer Triangle.
Both terms refer to visual groupings of stars. Both terms are arbitrary human conventions with no theoretical importance.
88 official constellations - but there are also some asterisms up there too. Asterisms are patterns of stars that aren't official constellations like, The Big Dipper, Orion's Belt, The Summer Triangle, etc.
They are called "asterisms". Sometimes the word "constellation" is also used, though a constellation is not, strictly speaking, the pattern of stars; rather, it is defined by coordinate limits.
Asterisms are patterns of stars. They are usually parts of constellations. Sometimes they can be made up of stars from more than one constellation. People don't "discover" them. People invent them. Many must have been known since people first looked at the night sky. You can even make some up yourself. Any pattern you see can be an asterism. The most obvious ones have been known for a long time and some have been used by different cultures throughout history.
The Big Dipper is part of the Ursa Major constellation. It is one of the most well-known asterisms in the night sky and is easily recognizable due to its distinctive shape.
Basically, if you know some asterisms, you can determine the directions. You can also determine latitude, since the sky looks different depending on whether you are further north or further south; and (if you have an accurate clock, for comparison), your longitude.
The 'Big Dipper', 'Little Dipper', 'Northern Cross', 'Summer Triangle', Orion's belt, and the 'teapot' of Sagittarius are asterisms ... instantly recognizable patterns of stars that are either fractions of a constellation, or assemblages of stars 'borrowed' from more than one constellation.