RASC World Asterisms Project: 

An asterism is a star or stars that have been identified and named. The people of the world come from a variety of social, educational, and cultural backgrounds. This means that even though they are looking up at exactly the same stars that you are, they see different patterns than you. Even within your own culture there will be differences. People have used the sky as:

• A calendar, and/or
• A divination system, and/or
• A navigational tool, and/or
• A weather prediction system, and/or
• A place to honor:
  • Their deities
  • Their ancestors, or
  • Their culture.

This is a practice that continues to this day.

The World Asterisms Project is a living project started in June 2021 by the Inclusivity and Diversity Committee of the RASC as a celebration of the sky cultures of the world. It is now celebrating its fifth anniversary and continues to grow. It responds to a growing need to acknowledge the contributions from so many cultures to astronomy and to help in the work of documenting important knowledge that is at risk of being forgotten. The World Asterisms Project has so far included some elements from over 771 of the world’s cultures and recorded over 17,567 asterisms including 601 Milky Way names and 4,957 telescopic asterisms. The document received contributions for over 1,815 names for the Sun, Moon, and planets.

DISCLAIMER: It is important to mention that this project was developed primarily to be quickly accessible and therefore the asterisms it contains have not been curated or not curated in the same way (e.g., some references are included when available). The document should therefore be used with caution, and references should be sought elsewhere when not available.

We are stewards of these records and hope they will be helpful for generations to come. We also want to receive feedback from the community in helping to make the project better as we hope it will grow over time. We want to highlight the importance of Etuaptmumk or the “Two-Eyed Seeing” approach pioneered by Mi'kmaq Elders Murdena and Albert Marshall that involves using both Indigenous and Western ways of knowing simultaneously to find more beneficial and holistic outcomes. Everyone is welcome to contribute to the project, and should follow this approach. As good practice we want to emphasize that the use of exonyms (i.e., a name only used by non-Indigenous people for Indigenous terms) should be avoided when possible. We prefer the names in their native language, as it contains more information than a simple translation. We are identifying the asterisms here and whenever possible directing people to knowledge keepers holding information related to them and their communities.

This is a work in progress as we add new discoveries and update current ones. We have also created a World Asterisms Project Google Drive for researchers involved in this project as partners and supporters. In this drive we keep the current drafts, shared asterism files, and a “new” page which describes current work. If you are interested in joining our team, contact us and we can add you to the researchers who have access to those lists. If you have any questions, suggestions, or corrections, please contact us and we’d be happy to assist you. This information is being provided free to all, but we encourage you to donate to the RASC to support our work.

Charles Ennis, President, Sunshine Coast Centre of the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada