SCUTUM

HISTORY

• Created in 1684 by Johannes Hevelius
• Full name is "Scutum Sobiescianum" (Shield of Sobieski)
• King Sobieski was the last great king of Poland
• The Chinese also happened to associate these stars with armor
• They incorporated the stars into a helmet

QUICK FACTS

• Scutum is the fifth smallest constellation
• It occupies an area of 109 sq. degrees (very small)
• Best visible between +80 and -90 latitudes at 9pm in August
• It holds the largest currently known star, UY Scuti
• It is the only constellation associated with a non-classical figure

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---Magnitude---
The brightest star is Alpha Scuti, at a 3.85 mag.
---Bordering Constellations---
Aquila-left, Sagittarius-below
Serpens Cauda- right
----Contains a total of 72 stars----

UY SCUTI

• One of the largest stars known
• Diameter of 2,375,828,000 km
• This gives it a volume nearly 5 billion times greater than our sun

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WILD DUCK CLUSTER

• An open cluster in Scutum
• One of the richest and most compact of the known clusters
• Contains about 2900 stars

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----More History---
The Polish never did much, so when the Polish king won the Battle of Vienna in 1683, Hevelius named the constellation after the king to commemorate the event.