Scutum (constellation)

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Scutum
Constellation
Scutum IAU.svg
List of stars in Scutum
AbbreviationSct
Genitive Scuti
Pronunciation /ˈskjuːtəm/ ,
genitive /ˈskjuːtaɪ/
Symbolismthe Shield
Right ascension 18.7h
Declination −10°
QuadrantSQ4
Area 109 sq. deg. (84th)
Main stars 2
Bayer/Flamsteed
stars		7
Stars with planets 1
Stars brighter than 3.00m0
Stars within 10.00 pc (32.62 ly)0
Brightest star α Scuti  (3.85 m )
Messier objects 2
Meteor showers June Scutids
Bordering
constellations		 Aquila
Sagittarius
Serpens Cauda
Visible at latitudes between +80° and −90°.
Best visible at 21:00 (9 p.m.) during the month of August.

Scutum is a small constellation. Its name is Latin for shield, and it was originally named Scutum Sobiescianum by Johannes Hevelius in 1684. Located just south of the celestial equator, its four brightest stars form a narrow diamond shape. It is one of the 88 IAU designated constellations defined in 1922.

Contents

History

Scutum Sobiescianum in Firmamentum Sobiescianum sive Uranographia 1690 Scutum Sobiescianum.PNG
Scutum Sobiescianum in Firmamentum Sobiescianum sive Uranographia 1690

Scutum was named in 1684 by Polish astronomer Johannes Hevelius [1] (Jan Heweliusz), who originally named it Scutum Sobiescianum (Shield of Sobieski) to commemorate the victory of the Christian forces led by Polish King John III Sobieski (Jan III Sobieski) in the Battle of Vienna in 1683. Later, the name was shortened to Scutum.

Five bright stars of Scutum (α Sct, β Sct, δ Sct, ε Sct and η Sct) were previously known as 1, 6, 2, 3, and 9 Aquilae respectively. [2]

The constellation of Scutum was adopted by the International Astronomical Union in 1922 as one of the 88 constellations covering the entire sky, with the official abbreviation of "Sct". [3] The constellation boundaries are defined by a quadrilateral. In the equatorial coordinate system, the right ascension coordinates of these borders lie between 18h 21.6m and 18h 59.3m, while the declination coordinates are between −3.83° and −15.94°. [4]

Coincidentally, the Chinese also associated these stars with battle armor, incorporating them into the larger asterism known as Tien Pien, i.e., the Heavenly Casque (or Helmet). [5]

Features

Stars

The constellation Scutum as it can be seen by the naked eye ScutumCC.jpg
The constellation Scutum as it can be seen by the naked eye
The constellation Scutum in the night sky, enhanced for color and contrast Scutum 20191227.jpg
The constellation Scutum in the night sky, enhanced for color and contrast

Scutum is not a bright constellation, with the brightest star, Alpha Scuti, being a K-type giant star [6] at magnitude 3.85. However, some stars are notable in the constellation. Beta Scuti is the second brightest at magnitude 4.22, followed by Delta Scuti at magnitude 4.72. It is also known as 6 Aquilae. [7] Beta Scuti is a binary system, [8] [9] with the primary with a spectral type similar to the Sun, although it is 1,270 times brighter. Delta Scuti is a bluish white giant star, which is now coming at the direction of the Solar System. Within 1.3 million years it will come as close to 10 light years from Earth, [10] and will be much brighter than Sirius by that time.

UY Scuti is a red hypergiant pulsating variable star and is also one of the largest stars currently known with a radius over 1,700 times that of the Sun, [11] [12] although some studies give lower estimates. [13] Stephenson 2 DFK 1 is another red hypergiant star and is possibly the largest star currently known, with a radius of 2,150 times that of the Sun. [14] Scutum contains several clusters of supergiant stars, including RSGC1, [15] Stephenson 2 (which contains Stephenson 2 DFK 1) [16] [17] and RSGC3. [18]

Deep sky objects

M1-63, a bipolar planetary nebula located in the constellation of Scutum (the Shield) M1-63 Nebula.jpg
M1-63, a bipolar planetary nebula located in the constellation of Scutum (the Shield)

Although not a large constellation, Scutum contains several open clusters, as well as a globular cluster and a planetary nebula. The two best known deep sky objects in Scutum are M11 (the Wild Duck Cluster) and the open cluster M26 (NGC 6694). The globular cluster NGC 6712 and the planetary nebula IC 1295 can be found in the eastern part of the constellation, only 24 arcminutes apart.

The most prominent open cluster in Scutum is the Wild Duck Cluster, M11. It was named by William Henry Smyth in 1844 for its resemblance in the eyepiece to a flock of ducks in flight. The cluster, 6200 light-years from Earth and 20 light-years in diameter, contains approximately 3000 stars, making it a particularly rich cluster. It is around 220 million years old, [19] although some studies give older estimates. [20] Estimates for the mass of the star cluster range from 3,700  M☉ [21] to 11,000  M☉ . [22]

Space exploration

The space probe Pioneer 11 is moving in the direction of this constellation. It will not near the closest star in this constellation for over a million years [23] at its present speed, by which time its batteries will be long dead.

See also

Serpens held by Ophiuchus, as depicted in Urania's Mirror, a set of constellation cards published in London c. 1825. Above the tail of the serpent is the now-obsolete constellation Taurus Poniatovii while below it is Scutum. Sidney Hall - Urania's Mirror - Taurus Poniatowski, Serpentarius, Scutum Sobiesky, and Serpens.jpg
Serpens held by Ophiuchus, as depicted in Urania's Mirror , a set of constellation cards published in London c. 1825. Above the tail of the serpent is the now-obsolete constellation Taurus Poniatovii while below it is Scutum.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ara (constellation)</span> Constellation in the southern celestial hemisphere

Ara is a southern constellation between Scorpius, Telescopium, Triangulum Australe, and Norma. It was one of the Greek bulk described by the 2nd-century astronomer Ptolemy, and it remains one of the 88 modern constellations designated by the International Astronomical Union.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wild Duck Cluster</span> Open cluster in the constellation Scutum

The Wild Duck Cluster is an open cluster of stars in the constellation Scutum. It was discovered by Gottfried Kirch in 1681. Charles Messier included it in his catalogue of diffuse objects in 1764. Its popular name derives from the brighter stars forming a triangle which could resemble a flying flock of ducks. The cluster is located just to the east of the Scutum Star Cloud midpoint.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Messier 18</span> Open cluster in the constellation Sagittarius

Messier 18 or M18, also designated NGC 6613, is an open cluster of stars in the constellation Sagittarius. It was discovered by Charles Messier in 1764 and included in his list of comet-like objects. From the perspective of Earth, M18 is situated between the Omega Nebula (M17) and the Small Sagittarius Star Cloud (M24).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Messier 52</span> Open cluster in the constellation Cassiopeia

Messier 52 or M52, also known as NGC 7654, is an open cluster of stars in the highly northern constellation of Cassiopeia. It was discovered by Charles Messier on 1774. It can be seen from Earth under a good night sky with binoculars. The brightness of the cluster is influenced by extinction, which is stronger in the southern half. Its metallicity is somewhat below that of the Sun, and is estimated to be [Fe/H] = −0.05 ± 0.01.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Delta Scuti</span> Star in the constellation Scutum

Delta Scuti, Latinized from δ Scuti, is a variable star in the southern constellation Scutum. With an apparent visual magnitude that fluctuates around 4.72, it is the fifth-brightest star in this small and otherwise undistinguished constellation. Analysis of the parallax measurements place this star at a distance of about 199 light-years from Earth. It is drifting closer with a radial velocity of −45 km/s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eta Scuti</span> Star in the constellation Scutum

Eta Scuti, Latinized from η Scuti, is a single star in the southern constellation of Scutum, near the constellation border with Aquila. Eta Scuti was a latter designation of 9 Aquilae before the official constellation borders were set in 1922. It is visible to the naked eye as a faint, orange-hued star with an apparent visual magnitude of +4.83. This object is located approximately 213 light-years from the Sun based on parallax, and is drifting further away with a radial velocity of −92.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sher 25</span> Star in the constellation Carina

Sher 25 is a blue supergiant star in the constellation Carina, located approximately 25,000 light years from the Sun in the H II region NGC 3603 of the Milky Way. It is a spectral type B1Iab star with an apparent magnitude of 12.2. Its initial main sequence mass is calculated at 60 times the mass of the Sun, but a star of this type will have already lost a substantial fraction of that mass. It is unclear whether Sher 25 has been through a red supergiant phase or has just evolved from the main sequence, so the current mass is very uncertain.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Phi Cassiopeiae</span> Star in the constellation Cassiopeia

Phi Cassiopeiae is a star in the constellation Cassiopeia. φ Cassiopeiae is a multiple star with a combined apparent magnitude of +4.95. The two brightest components are A and C, sometimes called φ1 and φ2 Cas. φ Cas A is an F0 bright supergiant of magnitude 4.95 and φ Cas C is a 7.08 magnitude B6 supergiant at 134".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kappa Crucis (star)</span> Star in the constellation Crux

Kappa Crucis is a spectroscopic binary star in the open cluster NGC 4755, which is also known as the Kappa Crucis Cluster or Jewel Box Cluster.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hypergiant</span> Rare star with tremendous luminosity and high rates of mass loss by stellar winds

A hypergiant (luminosity class 0 or Ia+) is a very rare type of star that has an extremely high luminosity, mass, size and mass loss because of its extreme stellar winds. The term hypergiant is defined as luminosity class 0 (zero) in the MKK system. However, this is rarely seen in literature or in published spectral classifications, except for specific well-defined groups such as the yellow hypergiants, RSG (red supergiants), or blue B(e) supergiants with emission spectra. More commonly, hypergiants are classed as Ia-0 or Ia+, but red supergiants are rarely assigned these spectral classifications. Astronomers are interested in these stars because they relate to understanding stellar evolution, especially star formation, stability, and their expected demise as supernovae.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">R Scuti</span> Variable star in the constellation Scutum

R Scuti is a star in the constellation of Scutum. It is a yellow supergiant and is a pulsating variable known as an RV Tauri variable. It was discovered in 1795 by Edward Pigott at a time when only a few variable stars were known to exist.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">UY Scuti</span> Star in the constellation Scutum

UY Scuti (BD-12°5055) is an extreme red hypergiant or red supergiant star in the constellation Scutum. It is considered one of the largest known stars by radius and is also a pulsating variable star, with a maximum brightness of magnitude 8.29 and a minimum of magnitude 10.56. It has an estimated radius of 1,708 solar radii (1.188×109 kilometres; 7.94 astronomical units), thus a volume nearly 5 billion times that of the Sun. It is approximately 2.9 kiloparsecs (9,500 light-years) from Earth. If placed at the center of the Solar System, its photosphere would at least engulf the orbit of Jupiter.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">V520 Persei</span> Star in the constellation Perseus

V520 Persei is a blue supergiant member of NGC 869, one of the Perseus Double Cluster open clusters. It is an irregular variable star. At a magnitude of 6.55, V520 Persei is the brightest member in either NGC 869 or NGC 884, although the brighter HD 13994 lies in the foreground along the same line of sight.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">DU Crucis</span> Star in the constellation Crux

DU Crucis is a red supergiant and slow irregular variable star in the open cluster NGC 4755, which is also known as the Kappa (κ) Crucis Cluster or Jewel Box Cluster.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">S Scuti</span> Variable star in the constellation Scutum

S Scuti is a carbon star located in the constellation Scutum. Parallax measurements by Hipparcos put it at a distance of approximately 1,300 light-years. Its apparent magnitude is 6.80, making it visible to the naked eye only under excellent conditions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">NGC 7419</span> Open cluster in the constellation Cepheus

NGC 7419 is an open cluster in the constellation Cepheus. It is heavily reddened and notable for containing five red supergiants, the highest number known in any cluster until the end of the 20th century, but probably no blue supergiants.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">FG Virginis</span> Variable star in the constellation Virgo

FG Virginis is a well-studied variable star in the equatorial constellation of Virgo. It is a dim star, near the lower limit of visibility to the naked eye, with an apparent visual magnitude that ranges from 6.53 down to 6.58. The star is located at a distance of 273.5 light years from the Sun based on parallax measurements, and is drifting further away with a radial velocity of +16 km/s. Because of its position near the ecliptic, it is subject to lunar occultations.

References

  1. ↑ Star Tales ― Scutum by Ian Ridpath
  2. ↑ Wagman, M. (August 1987). "Flamsteed's Missing Stars". Journal for the History of Astronomy. 18 (3): 212–213. Bibcode:1987JHA....18..209W. doi:10.1177/002182868701800305. S2CID   118445625.
  3. ↑ Russell, Henry Norris (1922). "The New International Symbols for the Constellations". Popular Astronomy . 30: 469. Bibcode:1922PA.....30..469R.
  4. ↑ "Scutum, Constellation Boundary". The Constellations. International Astronomical Union . Retrieved 3 September 2020.
  5. ↑ Richard H. Allen (1899) Star Names and Their Meanings, p. 363
  6. ↑ Keenan, Philip C.; McNeil, Raymond C. (1989). "The Perkins catalog of revised MK types for the cooler stars". The Astrophysical Journal Supplement Series. 71: 245. Bibcode:1989ApJS...71..245K. doi:10.1086/191373.
  7. ↑ Wagman, M. (August 1987). "Flamsteed's Missing Stars". Journal for the History of Astronomy. 18 (3): 212. Bibcode:1987JHA....18..209W. doi:10.1177/002182868701800305. S2CID   118445625.
  8. ↑ Hutter, D. J.; Zavala, R. T.; Tycner, C.; Benson, J. A.; Hummel, C. A.; Sanborn, J.; Franz, O. G.; Johnston, K. J. (2016). "Surveying the Bright Stars by Optical Interferometry. I. A Search for Multiplicity among Stars of Spectral Types F-K". Astrophysical Journal Supplement Series. 227 (1): 4. arXiv: 1609.05254 . Bibcode:2016ApJS..227....4H. doi:10.3847/0067-0049/227/1/4. S2CID   118803592.
  9. ↑ Parsons, S. B.; Franz, O. G.; Wassermann, L. H. (2005). "The Fine Guidance Sensor Orbit of the G4 Bright Giant HD 173764". Astronomical Journal. 129 (3): 1700. Bibcode:2005AJ....129.1700P. doi: 10.1086/427853 .
  10. ↑ García-Sánchez, J.; et al. (2001), "Stellar encounters with the solar system", Astronomy and Astrophysics, 379 (2): 634–659, Bibcode:2001A&A...379..634G, doi: 10.1051/0004-6361:20011330
  11. ↑ Arroyo-Torres, B.; Wittkowski, M.; Marcaide, J. M.; Hauschildt, P. H. (2013). "The atmospheric structure and fundamental parameters of the red supergiants AH Scorpii, UY Scuti, and KW Sagittarii". Astronomy & Astrophysics. 554: A76. arXiv: 1305.6179 . Bibcode:2013A&A...554A..76A. doi:10.1051/0004-6361/201220920. S2CID   73575062.
  12. ↑ Tabernero, H. M.; Dorda, R.; Negueruela, I.; Marfil, E. (2021). "The nature of VX Sagitarii". Astronomy & Astrophysics. 646: A98. arXiv: 2011.09184 . doi:10.1051/0004-6361/202039236. S2CID   227013580.
  13. ↑ Messineo, M.; Brown, A. G. A. (2019). "A Catalog of Known Galactic K-M Stars of Class I Candidate Red Supergiants in Gaia DR2". The Astronomical Journal . 158 (1): 20. arXiv: 1905.03744 . Bibcode:2019AJ....158...20M. doi:10.3847/1538-3881/ab1cbd. S2CID   148571616.
  14. ↑ Fok, Thomas K. T; Nakashima, Jun-ichi; Yung, Bosco H. K; Hsia, Chih-Hao; Deguchi, Shuji (2012). "Maser Observations of Westerlund 1 and Comprehensive Considerations on Maser Properties of Red Supergiants Associated with Massive Clusters". The Astrophysical Journal . 760 (1): 65. arXiv: 1209.6427 . Bibcode:2012ApJ...760...65F. doi:10.1088/0004-637X/760/1/65. S2CID   53393926.
  15. ↑ Figer, D. F.; MacKenty, J. W.; Robberto, M.; Smith, K.; Najarro, F.; Kudritzki, R. P.; Herrero, A. (2006). "Discovery of an Extraordinarily Massive Cluster of Red Supergiants". The Astrophysical Journal. 643 (2): 1166–1179. arXiv: astro-ph/0602146 . Bibcode:2006ApJ...643.1166F. doi:10.1086/503275. S2CID   18241900.
  16. ↑ Davies, B.; Figer, D. F.; Kudritzki, R. P.; MacKenty, J.; Najarro, F.; Herrero, A. (2007). "A Massive Cluster of Red Supergiants at the Base of the Scutum‐Crux Arm". The Astrophysical Journal. 671 (1): 781–801. arXiv: 0708.0821 . Bibcode:2007ApJ...671..781D. doi:10.1086/522224. S2CID   1447781.
  17. ↑ Stephenson, C. B. (1990). "A possible new and very remote galactic cluster". The Astronomical Journal. 99: 1867. Bibcode:1990AJ.....99.1867S. doi:10.1086/115464.
  18. ↑ Negueruela, I.; González-Fernández, C.; Marco, A.; Clark, J. S.; Martínez-Núñez, S. (2010). "Another cluster of red supergiants close to RSGC1". Astronomy and Astrophysics. 513: A74. arXiv: 1002.1823 . Bibcode:2010A&A...513A..74N. doi:10.1051/0004-6361/200913373. S2CID   118531372.
  19. ↑ MacRobert, Alan (September 2012). "So, Where Are the Wild Ducks?!". Sky and Telescope.
  20. ↑ Casamiquela, L.; et al. (March 2018), "NGC 6705 a young α-enhanced open cluster from OCCASO data", Astronomy & Astrophysics, 610: 10, arXiv: 1710.11069 , Bibcode:2018A&A...610A..66C, doi:10.1051/0004-6361/201732024, S2CID   59397264, A66.
  21. ↑ Cantat-Gaudin, T.; et al. (September 2014), "The Gaia-ESO Survey: Stellar content and elemental abundances in the massive cluster NGC 6705", Astronomy & Astrophysics, 569: 18, arXiv: 1407.1510 , Bibcode:2014A&A...569A..17C, doi:10.1051/0004-6361/201423851, S2CID   5111744, A17.
  22. ↑ Santos, J. F. C. Jr.; et al. (October 2005), "Structure and stellar content analysis of the open cluster M 11 with 2MASS photometry", Astronomy and Astrophysics, 442 (1): 201–209, arXiv: astro-ph/0507216 , Bibcode:2005A&A...442..201S, doi:10.1051/0004-6361:20053378, S2CID   15323948.
  23. ↑ Pioneer 11 is travelling at ~2.4 au/yr, 41.54 ly ≈ 2.627x106au.

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