Saturday, 18 July 2020

Astrognome A-Z of Constellations # 75 Scutum


Scutum the Shield
A faint constellation between Aquila and Serpens, introduced in the 1680s by the Polish astronomer Johannes Hevelius under the title Scutum Sobieski. This was to honour King John Sobieski of Poland who defeated the Ottoman army at the battle of Vienna in 1683.
Scutum is rich in star fields but there are few right stars visible to the naked eye.
Alpha magnitude 3.8 is a K3 giant star with a temperature of 4,000’C, it is 199 light years away.
Delta is a F2 giant star with a temperature of 7,000’C and is 202 light years away. Delta is the lead star in the delta Scutum class of variable stars varying slightly between magnitude 4.7-4.8.
M11 the Wild Duck cluster, is just visible to the naked eye under the best conditions. it gets its name because of its noticeable fan shape which resembles a flight of wild ducks.



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