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The fifth-smallest constellation in the sky, introduced in 1684 by the Polish astronomer Johannes Hevelius under the title Scutum Sobiescianum, Sobieski’s Shield, in honour of King John III Sobieski of Poland who helped Hevelius rebuild his observatory after a disastrous fire in 1679. Hevelius’s description and chart of the constellation first appeared in 1684 in Acta Eruditorum, a leading scientific journal of the day. Scutum is the only constellation introduced for political reasons that is still in use.
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Scutum shown under the name Scutum Sobiesii in the Uranographia of Johann Bode. For Hevelius’s original depiction of it, see here.


Scutum lies in a bright area of the Milky Way and is distinctive despite its small size. Its brightest stars are of only fourth magnitude, and none are named, but the constellation contains a celebrated cluster of stars popularly known as the Wild Duck cluster because its fan-shape resembles a flight of ducks.


© Ian Ridpath. All rights reserved


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