Scutum Constellation: The Ultimate Guide

Scutum is classified as one of the 88 modern constellations, meaning that it has no associated history in ancient Western cultures because it was not visible in those regions.

It is known that Scutum is one of the faintest constellations and that most of its stars cannot be seen with the naked eye, so it was necessary to wait for telescopes to be invented to see it.

Scutum was named in 1684 by polish astronomer Johannes Hevelius (Jan Heweliusz), who originally named it Scutum Sobiescianum (Sobieski's Shield) to commemorate the victory of Christian forces led by Polish King John III Sobieski (Jan III Sobieski) at the Battle of Vienna in 1683.

Years later, the cartographers shortened the constellation's name remaining as Scutum.

In 1922 the International Astronomical Association added the constellation Scutum to the 88 official night sky constellations. Since then, it has not undergone significant modifications in its boundaries.

Currently, Scutum occupies only 109 square degrees. This makes it the fifth smallest constellation in the night sky.

Scutum resides in the second quadrant of the Southern Hemisphere (SQ2) between latitudes 80° N and 90° S, which means that we can see the constellation Scutum in the night sky from all countries in the world.

Scutum is visible in America, Europe, Africa, Australia, Asia, and Antarctica.

Scutum is a constellation located mainly at the south pole; however, August is the best month to visualize it.

The constellation Scutum is visible during summer in the northern and southern hemispheres during winter.

The constellation Scutum is in the southern celestial hemisphere.; however, August is the best month to visualize it.

The easiest way to locate the constellation Scutum is by drawing an imaginary straight line from the star Altair in the constellation Aquila to the star Antares in the constellation Scorpius. The constellation Scutum is halfway between the two.

The constellations bordering Scutum are Aquila, Sagittarius, and Serpens.

In addition, Scutum belongs to the family of constellations of Hercules; these include Aquila, Ara, Centaurus, Corona Australis, Corvus, Crater, Crux, Cygnus, Hercules, Hydra, Lupus, Lyra, Ophiuchus, Sagitta, Sextans, Serpens, Triangulum Australe, and Vulpecula.

The constellation Scutum officially contains 29 stars, of which 6 form the central figure of the constellation; these are Ionnina, Beta Scuti, Delta Scuti, Gamma Scuti, Zeta Scuti, and Epsilon Scuti.

Also called Ionnina is the brightest star in the constellation Scutum, with an apparent magnitude of +3.85. This is 199 light-years from Earth.

Alpha Scuti is an orange giant of spectral type K3III with a surface temperature of 4280 K. It is 132 times more luminous than the Sun, and its radius is 21 times larger than the solar radius.

It is the second brightest star in the constellation Scutum with an apparent magnitude of +4.22. It is 916 ± 80 light-years from the Solar System.

It is a luminous yellow giant of spectral type G4IIa with a surface temperature of 4700 K. It is about 3100 times more luminous than the Sun. Its radius is 84 times greater than the solar radius, equivalent to 0.39 AU.

• Gamma Scuti (γ Sct)
• Delta Scuti (δ Sct / 2 Scuti / HD 172748 / HR 7020)
• Epsilon Scuti (ε Sct / HD 173009 / HR 7032)
• Eta Scuti (η Sct / HD 175751 / HR 7149 / HIP 93026)
• R Scuti (R Sct / HD 173819 / HR 7066 / HIP 92202)

Scutum is also home to several deep-sky objects. Deep-sky objects often mean star clusters, nebulae (interstellar cloud bodies), or galaxies.

In the case of Scutum, because it is a small constellation, it only has star clusters and galaxies, some of which are:

It is an open cumulus in the constellation Scutum with an apparent magnitude of +6.3 and is the most notable deep sky object in the constellation.

NGC 6705 is one of the richest open clusters so far known, in which around 2900 stars have been dated, mainly hot blue and white stars, although there is no lack of some yellow and orange components. Its age has been estimated at approximately 220 million years.

It is a remarkable supernova remnant within the constellation Sculptor; it has violet and pink colors equal to that of a flower.

The morphology of Kesteven 73 shows an incomplete shell, both in radio band and in X-rays, filled with lumpy substructures visible in X-rays.

Observations in this last region of the electromagnetic spectrum infer that the shock wave has found interstellar material, indicating molecular clouds in nearby regions.

• Scutum is a constellation located primarily in the southern hemisphere. Its name comes from the Latin "Escuedo" and means shield.
• Scutum is one of the 88 modern constellations, so its name is not derived from an ancient myth, history, or legend like the most famous constellations.
• The constellation Scutum lies between 80° N and 90° S. The best month to observe the constellation is January.
• The easiest way to locate the constellation Scutum is by drawing an imaginary straight line from the star Altair in the constellation Aquila to the star Antares in the constellation Scorpius. The constellation Scutum is halfway between the two.
• The brightest star in the constellation Scutum is Alpha Scuti (α Sct/HD 171443/HR 6973), with an apparent magnitude of +3.85.
• The most notable deep sky body in the constellation Scutum is the globular cumulus NGC 6705.

1. https://www.constellation-guide.com/constellation-list/scutum-constellation/
2. http://www.seasky.org/constellations/constellation-scutum.html
3. https://www.britannica.com/place/Scutum-constellation
4. https://earthsky.org/constellations/constellation-scutum-named-for-a-polish-king/
5. https://in-the-sky.org/data/constellation.php?id=76