Scutum, the Shield, is a minor constellation found just north of Milky Way in Sagittarius. Although the shape of constellation itself is not very obvious, you can be fascinated with the beauty of the Milky Way in that with binoculars. J. Hevelius, a Polish astronomer, invented the constellation. The constellation had the proper name of Scutum Sobieskii. Jan Sobieski was the king of Poland. He repulsed the Turks that tried to attack Vienna in 1683. Hevelius commemorated this event with the inclusion of Scutum Sobieskii in summer sky in 1690.
Stars In Scutum
M11 (NGC6705)
The Scutum is a tiny constellation just North of Sagittarius, and M11 (NGC6705) is a fine open cluster found out in this minor constellation. This object has no name in Japan, but it's called "Wild Duck Cluster" in English. M11 is positioned in the Milky Way where fine stars are extremely crowded, but it's unexpectedly easy to find the cluster because M11 is much denser than the Milky Way of a background. Each open cluster has one of five types of "c" to "g" classified with its density, and M11 has the highest index of "g", so it looks like a globular cluster. The cluster consists of about 200 stars and 5600 light years away.
M26
M26 is a small open cluster bathed in the Small-Star Cloud of Scutum that is a bright and noticeable part of the summer's Milky Way. It may be interesting to compare the cluster with another bright one of M11 in same constellation. M26 is much more indistinct than M11, only 20 or more fine stars can be counted. You need conditioned night sky to enjoy its pretty view through binoculars or small telescopes. But there is a lump of dark cloud stretched toward the cluster so you can recognize M26 without buried under the light of Milky Way. M26 is lying about 5000 light-years away, a bit closer than M11.
