What are constellations?

 

When you gaze into the night sky, can you spot the balls of gas we call stars? If you look closely and use your imagination, does it seem like you could draw lines between the stars to form pictures, the same way you sometimes connect the dots to create images on paper? A star-filled area of the night sky is called a constellation. There are 88 official constellations!

In fact, people have noticed constellations for thousands of years. These starry regions have even helped travelers find their way! Sometimes the stars of a constellation can be “connected” to create pictures. Constellation names, such as Canis Major (Big Dog) and Cygnus (Swan), often note the images formed when imaginary lines are used to connect the dots in the sky! 

Sometimes within a constellation, there are other shapes created by patterns of stars. These starry images are called asterisms. For example, The Big Dipper is an asterism within a constellation called Ursa Major (the Great Bear). But don’t worry if you don’t always see the animal or person for which the constellation or asterism is named. Sometimes the image is a bit tricky to spot. As always, a little imagination makes the view much more spectacular!