Star profile

Zeta Scutum

3D likeness based on its real data · class K · ~4,200 K

What is Zeta Scutum

Zeta Scuti is an orange spectroscopic binary of type K0 III, set in one of the youngest constellations in the sky: Scutum, sculpted by Hevelius in the seventeenth century in honour of the Polish king John III Sobieski. About 207 light-years away, it shines over one of the densest stellar fields of the Milky Way, exactly where the galactic plane thickens and fills with clusters like M11, the Wild Duck Cluster, its most celebrated neighbour.

Where it is and when to see it

Zeta Scutum lies in the southern celestial hemisphere. It is visible to the naked eye under a dark sky. Its best month of the year is June, when it culminates around midnight.

From London it culminates about 30° above the horizon.
From New York it culminates about 40° above the horizon.
From Sydney it culminates about 65° above the horizon.

It can be seen from anywhere south of 81° N.

It ranks no. 3 in brightness among the 18 stars of Scutum in our catalogue. To find it, start from Alpha Scutum, the brightest: it lies about 3° away (a fist at arm's length covers about 10°).

The light you see today left it about 210 years ago.

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Astronomical data for Zeta Scutum

Constellation: Scutum
Apparent magnitude: 4.66
Distance: 206.7 light years
Coordinates (J2000): RA 275.915° · Dec -8.934°
Catalogue: HIP 90135 · HD 169156

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Other stars in Scutum

Scutum has 18 stars in Stelvia's catalogue. Here are a few of them.

See all 18 stars in Scutum