Scutum Scutum, at lower right, is a southern constellation whose name means the Shield. It was originally named Scutum Sobiescianum, the Shield of Sobieski, after King Jan III Sobieski by Polish astronomer Johannes Hevelius. It was so named to commemorate a victory over the Ottoman Empire by the king in the Battle of Vienna in 1683. Later the name was shortened to Scutum. Scutum does not have any Greek or Roman mythological stories associated with it. Hold your mouse cursor over the image to see constellation figures, boundaries, and star identifications. Alpha Scuti, a spectral-class K orange-giant star that shines at an apparent magnitude of 3.8, is the brightest star in the constellation. It is located 174 light-years away. Beta Scuti is a spectral-class G star that shines at an apparent magnitude of 4.22. It is located 690 light-years away. Scutum contains two Messier objects - M11, the Wild Duck Cluster, and open cluster M26. It is also home to dark nebula Barnard 104. Scutum was introduced by the Polish astronomer Johannes Hevelius in the 17th century C.E. (Common Era). It is the fifth smaller of today's 88 modern constellations, covering 109 square degrees of sky. Aquila Aquila is a northern constellation whose name is Latin for the Eagle. In mythology, it represents the eagle who carried Zeus' thunderbolts. Alpha Aquilae is Altair, a bright magnitude 0.77 spectral-type A star that marks one of the vertices of the Summer Triangle. It is located only 16.7 light-years from the Earth, which is why it is so bright. Altair is the brightest star in the image at left. Part of the Great Rift in the Milky Way is prominent in this image of the Scutum - Serpens - Aquila - Sagitta area. The Great Rift is a group of dark nebulae made up of dust and gas that blocks the light of stars behind it. This material lies 300 light-years away between us and the numerous stars and star clouds that comprise the Milky Way - our own galaxy seen from the inside. The Great Rift roughly divides the Milky Way in two and stretches 120 degrees from Centaurus through the Summer Triangle and into Cygnus. In this image, it runs from Scutum and Serpens at lower right up through Aquila and into Sagitta. The obscuring dust and gas that make up the Great Rift are part of a large molecular cloud that is a star forming region. The dust is so thick that it blocks our visible-light view of the center of the Milky Way some 28,000 light-years away in Sagittarius. Aquila does not host any Messier objects, but it does contain planetary nebula NGC 6781, and dark nebulae B142 and B143, LDN 673, and B138. Aquila was cataloged by the Greek astronomer Ptolemy in the second century C.E. (Common Era). It is the 22nd largest of today's 88 modern constellations, covering 652 square degrees of sky. Sagitta Sagitta is a small northern constellation whose name means the "Arrow" in Latin. None of the stars in Sagitta are brighter than magnitude 3.5, making it one of the smallest and dimmest constellations. In Greek mythology, Sagitta represents the arrow that Hercules used to kill the eagle Aquila that Zeus sent to gnaw at Prometheus' liver. Alpha Sagittae is Sham, a spectral-type G yellow-giant star with an apparent magnitude of 4.38 that is located 473 light-years from Earth. Gamma Sagittae is the brightest star in the constellation shining at magnitude 3.5. It is a spectral-class K orange-giant star that is located 274 light-years away. Sagitta contains one Messier object, globular cluster M71. Sagitta was cataloged by the Greek astronomer Ptolemy in the second century C.E. (Common Era). It is the 86th largest of today's 88 modern constellations, covering 80 square degrees of sky. North is to the top in the above image.
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