The eighth constellation on our Hercules Family list is Scutum The Shield, a small and dim modern constellation devised like Sextans The Sextant by Johannes Hevelius.
A scutum is an ancient rectangular shield used by Roman soldiery. Hevelius created this constellation in 1684. He named it after his royal patron, the King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania Jan III Sobieski, calling it Scutum Sobiescianum, "Sobieski's Shield" in honor of the Catholic Grand Duke-King's victory over the Muslims at the Battle of Vienna in 1683. The asterism lacks any suggestion of a cross, though contemporary artwork displays one.
Interestingly, the Chinese called this asterism "The Helm" but there's no evidence that Hevelius knew of this connection with armor. Modern astronomers have dropped Sobieski's name from the constellation, and the Grand Duke-King is mostly remembered today for being an ancestor of the actress Leelee Sobieski.
None of Scutum's stars exceeds Magnitude Four, but one, Delta Scuti, is following an orbital path through the Milky Way that will bring it to within 10 light years of Earth in about one million years. By that time, this blue-white giant will exceed Sirius in brightness.
The most notable deep sky object in Scutum is the Wild Duck Cluster, a star grouping that looks like a flock of birds in the air.
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