Constellation Scutum (Shield)
Date:
Southern Hemisphere
Summer
Shield
Scutum
The Shield (lat. Scutum) is a constellation located near the celestial equator. Due to its faint stars it is relatively inconspicuous, its brightest star α Scuti has a magnitude of 3.8. Of interest is the star δ Scuti: It is a triple system whose brightest part changes at short intervals.
How to spot Scutum
With an area of 109 square degrees, Scutum is the fifth smallest constellation in the sky. It can be seen in the summer in the southern hemisphere and is surrounded by Aquila, Sagittarius and Serpens.
History
The astronomer Johannes Hevel dedicated this constellation to the Polish King Jan III Sobieski, which is why the original name was "Scutum Sobiescii". It was the king who freed the city of Vienna from the Turkish besiegers in 1683 at the Battle of Kahlenberg, thus preventing the expansion of the Ottoman Empire in Europe. In addition, he was a strong supporter of astronomy and Hevel himself.