asterism
Sign in to savepattern of stars recognized on Earth's night sky
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An asterism is a pattern of stars that people recognize when looking at the night sky, like the Big Dipper or the Summer Triangle. These star patterns help people navigate and find their way around the sky, even though the stars that make them up aren't necessarily related to each other or part of the same official constellation.
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The bright stars in this photo form the asterism Brocchi's Cluster in the constellation Vulpecula, also known as "The Coathanger."
An asterism is an observed pattern or group of stars in the sky. Asterisms can be any identified star pattern, and therefore are a more general concept than the 88 formally defined constellations. Constellations are based upon asterisms, but unlike asterisms, constellations are defined regions with official boundaries which together encompass the entire sky.