According to NASA, there are 88 officially recognized constellations, 48 of which date back to ancient civilizations like the Babylonians and the Greeks and even earlier, with later “modern-day” constellations added as humanitys expedition of the night sky grew more precise.The stars that make up the Winter Triangle, formed of three of the brightest stars noticeable during winter season. The stars in asterisms typically share this practically approximate relationship to one another, but sometimes, the connection between these stars runs much deeper than just how and where they appear to us.Asterisms definedAsterisms are patterns of stars with shapes and sizes that can vary from the really simple, containing just a few stars, to the larger and more intricate– with some of these arrangements of stars covering large regions of the sky.Stars within an asterism are usually of similar brightness to each other and may range from brilliant and noticeable to the naked eye or distinguishable with a telescope, Space.com previously reported. Comprised of the 7 brightest stars of the constellation Ursa Major– or the Great Bear– the Big Dipper isnt a constellation at all however is an asterism.The asterism known as LE, part of the open cluster NGC 2169 located in Orion (Image credit: ScottRak) Five of the stars that make up the Big dipper are part of the Ursa Major Moving Group, or Collinder 285.
According to NASA, there are 88 formally acknowledged constellations, 48 of which date back to ancient civilizations like the Babylonians and the Greeks and even previously, with later “modern” constellations included as humankinds exploration of the night sky grew more precise.The stars that make up the Winter Triangle, formed of 3 of the brightest stars noticeable throughout winter. The stars in asterisms frequently share this almost arbitrary relationship to one another, but occasionally, the connection between these stars runs much deeper than simply how and where they appear to us.Asterisms definedAsterisms are patterns of stars with shapes and sizes that can range from the extremely basic, containing simply a couple of stars, to the bigger and more complicated– with some of these arrangements of stars covering big areas of the sky.Stars within an asterism are typically of comparable brightness to each other and might range from noticeable and intense to the naked eye or distinguishable with a telescope, Space.com previously reported. Made up of the 7 brightest stars of the constellation Ursa Major– or the Great Bear– the Big Dipper isnt a constellation at all however is an asterism.The asterism known as LE, part of the open cluster NGC 2169 situated in Orion (Image credit: ScottRak) Five of the stars that make up the Big dipper are part of the Ursa Major Moving Group, or Collinder 285. This is the closest set of stars to Earth with common velocities in space that are thought to have a typical origin in space and time.On the other hand, the stars that make up the asterism “the Coathanger”– which forms the main part of Brocchis cluster or Colnder 399– have supplied a questionable example of the relationships in between stars in an asterism, or the lack of the same.Originally, these stars were thought to all be part of an open cluster, formed from the collapse of the exact same thick and tremendously massive cloud of molecular gas. You can read about the stars in the Big Dipper in the interactive image below.The Southern CrossThe Southern Cross is a cross or kite-shaped arrangement of 4 bright stars that lies at the center of the constellation Crux.