Poniatowski’s
Bull
Some
distance south of the brightest star in Ophiuchus the serpent bearer it is easy
to find the stars beta and gamma Ophiuchi. Close to gamma is a little group of
stars none of which have Greek letters.
These stars
are labelled 66 Ophiuchi, 67, 68, and 70. These once formed a little
constellation called Poniatowski’ Bull. It was placed in the heavens by Abbe
Poczobut of Wilna in 1777 to honour Stanislaus Poniatowski, King of
Poland. He was the last King and Grand
Duke of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth.
Alas similar
to that commonwealth the constellation also no longer survives today and cannot
be found on any modern star map.
If you want
to find a constellation with Polish connections move slightly to the left and
look for the small and faint constellation of Scutum the shield. It was originally known as Scutum
Sobiescianum (Shield of Sobieski), today it is shortened to Scutum.
Scutum was
named in 1684 by Polish astronomer Johannes Hevelius to commemorate the victory
of the Christian forces led by Polish King John III Sobieski in the Battle of
Vienna in 1683. Later, the name was shortened to Scutum.
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