The fifth-smallest constellation in the sky, introduced in 1684 by the Polish
astronomer Johannes Hevelius under the title Scutum Sobiescianum, Sobieski’s Shield. He named it 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 August 1684 in Acta Eruditorum, a leading scientific journal of the day. Hevelius quoted Edmond Halley’s invention six years earlier of Robur Carolinum, honouring King Charles II of England, as the precedent. Robur Carolinum did
not survive but Scutum did, and is in fact 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 (1801). For its depiction in Hevelius’s own atlas, 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.
Chinese associations
In the Chinese constellation system, five or six stars of northern Scutum,
including Alpha, Beta and Eta Scuti, were grouped with others in Aquila to form
a nine-star constellation called Tianbian. This represented a team of trade officials overseeing the organization and
operation of markets. The area of sky to the west, incorporating much of
Ophiuchus and Serpens plus southern Hercules, was visualized as a marketplace.
© Ian Ridpath. All rights reserved
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