Constellations: Scutum 'the Shield'
Created | Updated Nov 8, 2017
Constellations: Overview
| Andromeda
| Antlia
| Apus
| Aquarius
| Aquila
| Ara
| Aries
| Auriga
| Boötes
| CaelumCamelopardalis | Cancer | Canes Venatici | Canis Major | Canis Minor | Capricornus | Carina | Cassiopeia | Centaurus
Cepheus | Cetus | Chamæleon | Circinus | Columba | Coma Berenices | Corona Australis | Corona Borealis | Corvus
Crater | Crux | Cygnus | Delphinus | Dorado | Draco | Equuleus | Eridanus | Fornax | Gemini | Grus | Hercules | Horologium
Hydra | Hydrus | Indus | Lacerta | Leo | Leo Minor | Lepus | Libra | Lupus | Lynx | Lyra | Mensa | Microscopium | Monoceros
Musca | Norma | Octans | Ophiuchus | Orion | Pavo | Pegasus | Perseus | Phoenix | Pictor | Pisces | Piscis Austrinus
Puppis | Pyxis | Reticulum | Sagitta | Sagittarius | Scorpius | Sculptor | Scutum | Serpens | Sextans | Taurus
Telescopium | Triangulum | Triangulum Australe | Tucana | Ursa Major | Ursa Minor | Vela | Virgo | Volans | Vulpecula
Above all, taking the shield of faith,
wherewith you will be able to quench
all the fiery darts of the wicked.
– Ephesians 6:16
Above Sagittarius stands the more modern constellation Scutum. Pronounced skoo-tem, this constellation did not exist prior to the 1600s and is therefore considered modern. It was originally called Scutum Sobiescianum in honour of Polish warrior king John Sobieski.
History
When the Ottoman Empire tried to expand and take over Vienna, pope Innocent XI sent out a call for a 'holy league' of soldiers. This was answered by Sobieski, who was put in charge of a combined force of 70,000 men. This defeated an army twice its size. At the end of the battle the king was heard to say Veni, vidi, Deus vicit, which translates as 'I came, I saw, God conquered.' This battle was the beginning of the end to the threat posed to Europe by the Ottoman Empire.
The founder of lunar topography, Johannes Hevelius (1611 - 87), delineated seven star formations in the 17th Century which are included in the 88 internationally recognised modern constellations: Scutum, Sextans, Vulpecula, Lynx, Leo Minor, Lacerta and Canes Venatici. They were introduced in his 1690 atlas Firmamentum Sobiescianum. When Hevelius drew up this star group it was the first modern constellation to be linked to a living person.
Constellation Data
| Name: | Scutum ('shield') |
| Genitive: | Scuti |
| Short form: | Sct |
| Area: | 109 sq deg |
| Co-ordinates1: | Right Ascension 19h, Declination −10° |
| Origin: | Modern |
Formation of the Shield
- Alpha Scuti is located at the right corner of the shield.
- Beta Scuti is located at top corner of the shield
- Zeta Scuti is the strap for the shield
- Delta and epsilon Scuti are located at the left corner of the shield
- Gamma Scuti is located at bottom corner of the shield
Stars
The system of naming the 24 brightest stars with Greek letters goes back to Johannes Bayer (1572 - 1625) and uses a Greek letter followed by the genitive (possessive) form of the constellation name. In 1862, Prussian astronomer Friedrich W Arlander (1799 - 1875) proposed that variable stars should have a new designation. This procedure assigns the first variable without a Greek letter the designation 'R'. This is followed by the next upper-case letters through to Z. Today, when these letters are exhausted, a two-letter name is used, starting with RR and going through to ZZ. Variable stars already bearing a Greek letter are not renamed, but keep their original designation.
Star Table
| Star | Name | Designation | Magnitude | Distance
(light years) | Spectral Classification |
| α Sct | Alpha Scuti2 | HD 6973 | +3.85 | 174 | K3 |
| β Sct | Beta Scuti | HD 7063 | +4.22 | 690 | G4 |
| ζ Sct | Zeta Scuti | HD 6884 | +4.68 | 191 | G9 |
| γ Sct | Gamma Scuti | HD 6930 | +4.7 | 291 | A3 |
| δ Sct | Delta Scuti | HD 7020 | +4.72 | 187 | F2 |
| η Sct | Eta Scuti | HD 7149 | +4.83 | 207 | K2 |
| ε Sct | Epsilon Scuti | HD 7032 | +4.9 | 523 | G8 |
| R Sct | R Scuti | HD 7066 | Variable3 | 2,500 | K0 |
Clusters and Nebulae
There are two Messier catalogued objects in Scutum: M11 is the Wild Duck Cluster and M26. Both are open clusters.
| Catalogue No | Name | Type | Magnitude | Distance (light years) |
| M11 | Wild Duck Cluster | Open Cluster | +6.3 | 6,000 |
| M26 | Bode 59 | Open Cluster | +8.0 | 5,000 |
| NGC 6631 | Open Cluster | +11.1 | 8,480 | |
| NGC 6664 | Open Cluster | +7.8 | 7,500 | |
| NGC 6683 | Open Cluster | +9.4 | 3,904 | |
| NGC 6704 | Open Cluster | +9.2 | 9,700 | |
| NGC 6712 | Globular Cluster | +8.69 | 22,500 | |
| NGC 6649 | Open Cluster | +8.9 | 5,200 |
Reflection Nebula IC 1287
The Reflection Nebula IC 1287 shines faintly, covering about 20' of arc within the rich star field near NGC 6649. Unlike emission nebulae, this type of cloud typically has a pale-blue sheen caused by the reflection and scattering of light by interstellar dust.
Planetary Nebula IC 1295
The Planetary Nebula is situated near the globular cluster NGC 6712. Although ninth magnitude, it is a difficult target for backyard astronomers.
Meteor Shower
The June Scutids is a minor meteor shower whose existence was finally confirmed within the past 40 years. This low-rate display (up to four per hour if you are lucky) is active between 2 June and 29 July, peaking around 27 June.
Extrasolar Planets
Two extrasolar planets were discovered in the Scutum constellation by the COROT mission, both during 2011. COROT-16 b and COROT-17 b are both hot gas giants. They orbit far too close to their parent stars to be candidates for life as we know it.
