created 2025-05-16, & modified, =this.modified
An asterism is an observed pattern or group of stars in the sky.
There are 88 formally defined constellations, but asterisms are a more general concept than this. For example the asterism the Big Dipper is the seven brightest stars in the constellation Ursa Major.
The patterns are not necessarily related to physical association with the stars, but are the result of perspective of the observer.
Early civilizations would associate groups of stars with connect-the-dot stick figure patterns.
As Europeans explored they were exposed to new stars in the southern constellations.
The Big Dipper, also known as The Plough or Charles’s Wain, is composed of the seven brightest stars in Ursa Major. 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.