THIS STORY HAS BEEN FORMATTED FOR EASY PRINTING

Celestial speciality: Giving constellations a personal touch

By Alan M. MacRobert
Globe Correspondent / June 4, 2005

E-mail this article

Invalid E-mail address
Invalid E-mail address

Sending your article

Your article has been sent.

Text size – +

People the world over see patterns in the stars, just as people see faces in clouds, human forms in tree trunks, monsters in shadows, or the Virgin Mary in a stain on a wall. We are built to over-interpret what we see. There's a word for it: pareidolia, seeing meaningful images in meaningless patterns. (Full article: 667 words)

This article is available in our archives:

Globe Subscribers

FREE for subscribers

Subscribers to the Boston Globe get unlimited access to our archives.

Not a subscriber?

Non-Subscribers

Purchase an electronic copy of the full article. Learn More

  • $4.95 1 article
  • $9.95 4 articles
  • $25.95 Monthly

Connect with Boston.com

Twitter Follow us on @BostonUpdate, other Twitter accounts