Scutum was added to the constellations in 1690, by Johannes Helvelius, in his famous publication Uranographia, pictured above. Helvelius drew his constellations backwards, as if they were painted on a celestial sphere surrounding the Earth (as the ancients believed), and viewed from the outside, looking down. Helvelius originally named the constellation Scutum Sobiescian (Shield of Sobieski), in honour of the Polish King who turned back the Ottoman invasion of 1683.

Although Scutum is a small, dim constellation, it lies in a particularly rich area of the Milky Way, full of dense star clouds, including the Scutum Star Cloud, in the center of the constellation, described by the famous American astronomer E.E. Barnard as "The Gem of the Milky Way". There are also two Messier objects that are good targets for backyard telescopes.

Scutum Star Cloud

(M11 on the northern edge)

Close-up of M11 - The Wild Duck Cluster

M26

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