43 Scutum , The Shield NAME: Scutum (SKEW-tum) SEASON: Summer CULMINATION: midnight, 1 July ABBREVIATION: Sct GENITIVE: Scuti (SKEW-tee) NEIGHBORS: Aql, Ser, Sgr BINOCULAR OBJECTS: NGC 6694 (M 26), NGC 6705 (M 11) URBAN OBJECTS: NGC 6705 (M 11) cutum is a tiny, faint, south equatorial constellation that ranks 84th in size among the 88 constellations. Scutum covers only 109 square degrees of the celestial sphere, or about 0.3%. Its brightest stars are only fourth magnitude. It has only two of those, and only nine of the fifth magnitude. The ancients considered the area of Scutum to be just a dark patch of sky, and included it in none of their constellations. Scutum is a modern constellation, created in 1683 by Polish astronomer Johannes Hevelius to mark the victory of Polish forces under the command of Jan Sobieski in the battle of Vienna. Under its original name, Scutum Sobiescianum (The Shield of Sobieski), Scutum had the distinction of being the only constellation other than Coma Berenices to have been named for an historical personage. The latter part of the appellation was soon dropped, and Scutum became known under its present name, which is associated with the shields carried by the soldiers of ancient Rome. S Scutum has no bright stars and only three DSOs of interest to amateur astronomers, but two of those three are excellent Messier open clusters. The third DSO, NGC 6712, is a small, rather faint globular cluster. Scutum culminates at midnight on 1 July, and, for observers at mid-northern latitudes, is best placed for evening viewing from late spring through early autumn. TABLE 43-1. Featured star clusters, nebulae, and galaxies in Scutum Object NGC 6705 NGC 6694 NGC 6712 428 Type OC OC GC Mv 5.8 8.0 8.1 Size 13.0 14.0 9.8 RA 18 51.1 18 45.2 18 53.1 Dec -06 16 -09 23 -08 42 M B U D R Notes M 11; Cr 391; Class I 2 r M 26; Cr 389; Class II 3 m Class IX ILLUSTRATED GUIDE TO ASTRONOMICAL WONDERS