43Scutum, 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)
Scutum 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 ...
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