Constellation, Shield
Scutum
A shield honouring King John III Sobieski of Poland, added by Johannes Hevelius in 1684. It lies in a bright stretch of the Milky Way and holds the Wild Duck Cluster.
From New York on October 13, 2026, the centre of Scutum rises at 12:35 PM, is highest at 6:07 PM (41° above the horizon in the S) and sets at 11:40 PM.
In the 3D sky
The sky over New York turned towards Scutum. Drag to look around.
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Evening visibility over the year
Height of the constellation’s centre above the horizon at 10 pm local time on the 15th of each month, from New York. Above about 30° it is well placed.
Name and history
Johannes Hevelius named this figure Scutum Sobiescianum, Sobieski’s Shield, after King John III Sobieski of Poland. The king had helped Hevelius rebuild his rooftop observatory after a fire in 1679 destroyed his instruments and most of his houses. Hevelius published the figure in 1684. As a precedent he pointed to Edmond Halley’s Robur Carolinum, an oak honouring King Charles II of England. Halley’s oak did not last, but the shield did. Ian Ridpath notes that it is the only constellation created for political reasons that is still in use.
It nearly vanished. John Flamsteed left it out of his catalogue and atlas and counted its stars as part of Aquila. Johann Bode brought it back in 1801, and Francis Baily dropped it again in 1845. The American astronomer Benjamin Gould settled the matter in 1879. He kept it as plain Scutum and gave its stars Greek letters for the first time. None of its stars has a name, but the fan-shaped Wild Duck Cluster looks like a flight of ducks.
Sources: Ian Ridpath, Star Tales: Scutum
Brightest stars
| Star | Designation | Magnitude | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|
| α Sct | α Sct | 3.85 | 199 light-years |
| β Sct | β Sct | 4.22 | 916 light-years |
| ζ Sct | ζ Sct | 4.66 | 207 light-years |
| γ Sct | γ Sct | 4.67 | 319 light-years |
| δ Sct | δ Sct | 4.70 | 203 light-years |
| η Sct | η Sct | 4.83 | 202 light-years |
| ε Sct | ε Sct | 4.88 | 538 light-years |
Facts
| Area | about 110 square degrees (84 of 88) |
|---|---|
| IAU abbreviation | Sct |
| Sky | Near the celestial equator, visible from both hemispheres |
| Origin | First described and charted by Hevelius as Scutum Sobiescianum in the journal Acta Eruditorum in August 1684 |
| Stars brighter than magnitude 5 | 7 |
| Centre (J2000) | 18.7 h, -9° |
Deep-sky objects
Galaxies, clusters and nebulae brighter than magnitude 9, from the OpenNGC catalogue. Most need binoculars or a telescope and a dark sky.
Boundaries: International Astronomical Union, via Astronomy Engine. Areas are computed from the boundaries by sampling (within about one percent). Names and lines: Stellarium. Stars: HYG Database. Deep-sky objects: OpenNGC. Calculated with Astronomy Engine, an open-source library verified against the US Naval Observatory and NASA JPL. Data sources
How to use this page
Choose your place and a night at the top. The answer and the 3D view show where the constellation is, when it is highest and whether it rises at all from where you are. The chart shows its stars and lines, and the tables list its brightest stars and the deep-sky objects inside it.
Frequently asked questions
When is a constellation best seen?
When it is highest in a dark sky, which the page gives for the night you pick. Each constellation is best placed in a particular season, because the stars rise about four minutes earlier every night.
Why can I not see a constellation from my place?
Constellations far south of the celestial equator never rise from northern places, and those far north never rise from southern ones. The page says when this is the case.
What are the constellation boundaries?
The International Astronomical Union divides the sky into 88 areas with official boundaries. The stick figures are only a drawing aid, the boundaries say which constellation a point in the sky belongs to.
Related guides
- How to learn the constellationsStart with one bright pattern you cannot miss, use it as a signpost to its neighbours, and come back a month later: the sky will have turned, and you will know a little more of it.
- Altitude and azimuth: finding things in the skyTwo angles tell you exactly where to look: which direction, and how high.
- Light pollution and dark skies: the Bortle scaleFrom a city centre you can count a few dozen stars. From a truly dark site you can count a few thousand, with the Milky Way bright enough to cast a shadow. The Bortle scale puts a number on the difference.
- Binoculars for stargazing: what to buy and what to look atA pair of 7x50 or 10x50 binoculars shows the craters of the Moon, the moons of Jupiter, dozens of star clusters and the Andromeda Galaxy, for a fraction of the cost of a telescope.