Scutum

From Free net encyclopedia

For the Roman shield, see scutum (shield);

For the zootomical term, see scute.

Scutum (Latin for shield) is a small constellation. It is one of the 88 modern constellations. It was introduced in 1690 by Hevelius. It was originally known as Scutum Sobiescii (Sobieski's Shield) after the Polish king and hero Jan III Sobieski. It is the only constellation that is directly associated with an historical figure.

1 Notable features
2 Notable deep sky objects
3 Mythology
4 Notable and named stars
5 See also
6 External links

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Notable features

With an area of 109 square degrees, Scutum is the fifth smallest of the 88 modern constellations. It has few bright stars; the brightest star, α Scuti, has a magnitude of 3.85. The Milky Way runs through the constellation, and the Scutum star cloud can be found in the northeastern corner of the constellation.

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Notable deep sky objects

Scutum contains several open clusters, as well as a globular cluster and a planetary nebula. The two best known deep sky objects in Scutum are M11 (NGC 6705), the Wild Duck Cluster, a dense open cluster, and M26, another open cluster also known as NGC 6694. The globular cluster NGC 6712 and the planetary nebula IC 1295 can be found in the eastern part of the constellation, only 24 arcminutes apart.

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Mythology

Being a modern constellation, Scutum has no mythology associated with it. It was deigned to represent the shield of Jan III Sobieski.

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Notable and named stars

BD	Star Names and other designations	Mag.	Right ascension (J2000.0)	Declination (J2000.0)	Ly away	Comments
α	Alpha Scuti	3.85	18^h 35^m 12.4^s	−08° 14' 39"	174
β	Beta Scuti	4.22	18^h 47^m 10.5^s	−04° 44' 52"	690
ζ	Zeta Scuti	4.68	18^h 23^m 39.5^s	−08° 56' 03"	191
γ	Gamma Scuti	4.70	18^h 29^m 11.9^s	−14° 33' 57"	291
δ	Delta Scuti, ADS 11581	4.70v	18^h 42^m 16.4^s	−09° 03' 09"	187	variable star; magnitude variation: 4.60–4.79 with period 4^h40^m the prototypical Delta Scuti variable triple star; component magnitudes: 4.72v, 9.2, 12.2
η	Eta Scuti	4.83	18^h 57^m 03.7^s	−05° 50' 46"	207
ε	Epsilon Scuti, ADS 11601	4.90	18^h 43^m 31.3^s	−08° 16' 31"	523
	R Scuti	5.38	18^h 47^m 29.0^s	−05° 42' 18"		variable star; magnitude variation: 4.5–8.2 with period 140 days
	Struve 2325, ADS 11414	5.72	18^h 31^m 25.7^s	−10° 47' 45"		double star; component magnitudes: 5.8, 9.1
	PSR 1829-10		18^h 32^m 40.9^s	−10° 21' 34"		pulsar