Unidentified Constellation: Deciphering Star Patterns and Their Meanings

[Ritzycat]

I'm sorry if this is too random or general a question, but a friend of mine created this picture and asked me if this "constellation" exists. I've been stumped for hours and nothing in my atlas of constellations is helping me find it.

If there are any that appear to be this pattern of white dots, can someone please enlighten me? Let alone part of a larger constellation.

I assume the part of the top left is a double star, but I am not sure.

 

[Simon Bridge]

a friend of mine created this picture

... that would appear to indicate the likely answer wouldn't it?
Do you have any reason to think that the constellation might exist? i.e. is this picture an actual photograph of the night sky someplace?

 

[Ritzycat]

Does this one resemble anything at all? Or show any similarities?

 

[Simon Bridge]

Don't recognize it.
Why not ask your friend?

 

[jedishrfu]

How about the raised arm of Orion?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orion_...File:Orion_constellation_with_star_labels.jpg

Betelgeuse would be the corner of the right angle in your friends drawing and Meissa and Alnitrak the endpoints of the right angle

 

[Borek]

Star patterns are called asterisms. Not every asterism is a constellation.

In other words: while it is possible what you have shown reflects some part of the sky, it doesn't have to be a constellation. It can be a part of one, or the starts can belong to several constellations at once.

The only way of making sure is checking where these stars appear on the sky and how they are oriented. With the diversity of the PF users we can't be even sure if it is a northern or souther hemisphere, we can't be sure where is north on the picture, we can't be sure what is the scale (nor the accuracy).