#scutum

[spacewonder19]

Cygnus to Scutum © Alistair Symon

[wearemercs]

Roman Sneks by Johnny B Good

[quiltofstars]

The constellation of Scutum, the Shield // E. Slawik/NOIRLab/NSF/AURA/M. Zamani

Click below for some info on this small, but historically-inspired constellation!

Scutum, which is Latin for "shield," was added to our skies in 1684 by the Polish astronomer Johannes Hevelius. Previously these stars were a part of the nearby constellation Aquila, the Eagle.

Hevelius originally named it Scutum Sobiescianum, Latin for "Shield of Sobieski," in honor of the King of Poland, John III Sobieski. The shield is metaphorical: King John III Sobieski fought in the Battle of Vienna against the invading Ottoman Turks. He led an attack of just ~70,000 men against an army of 143,000 men, winning the battle. For this, the Pope hailed him as the "Savior of Vienna and Western European civilization."

Unfortunately, Scutum itself is not a very bright constellation and as of yet, the International Astronomical Union has not assigned any names to its stars.

However, it has two bright open clusters of stars in it, the Wild Duck Cluster (M11) and M26. Additionally, the spacecraft Pioneer 11, launched in 1973, is heading in the direction of Scutum.

[okaydrawboy]

Roman Republic "Scutum" shield

[shycroissanti]

Random doodles✨️

Constellations and Hercules🌌

Scutum and Leo

Scorpius and Ophiuchus

Orion and... Takahiro??

And here we have Hercules✨️

What do you all think?? :D✨️

[Reblogs are very very appreciated🥹💖💖]

[spookuzm]

Edgy space bois! Now available in three different sizes!

[historyhalls]

Find out about the scutum, the iconic shield of the Roman legions that formed a formidable weapons system along with the gladius

The Scutum: The Roman Legionary's Iconic Shield

[thecrankyprofessor]

Scutum (Shield) Yale University Art Gallery

This is the only known surviving example of the semicylindrical shield known as a scutum, used by Roman legionaries and known from literary

I didn't realize it was at Yale!