RASC World Asterisms Project: 

Update: 16 October 2025

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. As a result asterisms (stars and constellations) take different names, forms, and are associated with different stories/teachings relevant to the people and their perspectives. Even within one culture there are differences. People have used the sky:

• to understand the Cosmos,
• as a calendar,
• as a way finding tool,
• as a weather prediction tool, and/or
• as 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 third 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 592 of the world’s cultures and recorded over 15,519 asterisms including 470 Milky Way names and 4,187 telescopic asterisms. The document received contributions for over 1,662 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 emphasise 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 project has six parts which you can download below:

1. Volume One is the World Asterism Handbook that lists these asterisms alphabetically by subject so that you can see how these subjects cross cultures. Whenever possible we describe the star patterns in detail, describe the history behind it when we can, list possible variations in spelling, and list all the names and spellings in the language of the people when possible. We identify the people who first recorded or named these asterisms when possible.
2. Volume Two is the World Asterisms List which lists these asterisms with their exact location in the sky (right ascension and declination) with some basic notes on the stars involved. This is provided in both PDF and Excel format so that you can search the lists and create your own lists. Appendix Two is the Asterisms in Constellations List, which is in PDF format and lists the number of asterisms associated with each of the IAU constellations.
3. Volume Three is the World Asterisms Project Sky Cultures Resource List which identifies all the sky
   cultures that we’ve examined, gives their location in the world, and lists all resources available which
   can be used to learn more about them.
4. Volume Four is the World Asterisms Project Milky Way Names List which lists 390 of the names of our Galaxy (e.g., the “Milky Way Galaxy”) found in the sky cultures of the world. This is provided in both PDF and Excel spreadsheet format.
5. Volume Five is the World Asterisms Project Solar System Objects Handbook which lists the names for the Sun, the Moon, and the planets found in cultures of the world.
6. Volume Six is the World Asterisms Project Solar System Objects List. This is provided in both PDF and Excel formats.

This is a work in progress as we add new information and update current ones. It is our intention to periodically update these volumes on this webpage as they continue to grow. We have also created a World Asterisms Project Google Drive for community members involved actively 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 team 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. We are always looking for suggestions to improve the documents and their content. This information is being provided free to all.

If you'd like to contact us, our email is: worldasterismsproject@rasc.ca

Charles Ennis, President, Sunshine Coast RASC