asterism

English Thesaurus

1. (astronomy) a cluster of stars (or a small constellation) (noun.object)

hypernym	:	natural object,
definition	:	an object occurring naturally; not made by man (noun.tops)

instance hyponym	:	big dipper, charles's wain, dipper, plough, wagon, wain,
definition	:	a group of seven bright stars in the constellation Ursa Major (noun.object)

instance hyponym	:	dipper, little dipper,
definition	:	a cluster of seven stars in Ursa Minor; at the end of the dipper's handle is Polaris (noun.object)

member meronym	:	constellation,
definition	:	a configuration of stars as seen from the earth (noun.object)

domain category	:	astronomy, uranology,
definition	:	the branch of physics that studies celestial bodies and the universe as a whole (noun.cognition)

2. (mineralogy) a star-shaped figure with six rays that is seen in some crystal structures under reflected or transmitted light (noun.shape)

hypernym	:	star,
definition	:	a plane figure with 5 or more points; often used as an emblem (noun.shape)

domain category	:	mineralogy,
definition	:	the branch of geology that studies minerals: their structure and properties and the ways of distinguishing them (noun.cognition)

3. (astronomy) a cluster of stars (or a small constellation) (noun.object)

derivation	:	asterismal,
definition	:	relating to asterisms or constellations (adj.pert)

derivation	:	asterismal,
definition	:	relating to asterisms or constellations (adj.pert)