Star profile
Delta Scutum
Variable starWhat is Delta Scutum
Delta Scuti gives its name to an entire class of variable stars: the pulsating Delta Scuti family of white or yellow-white giants that beat with periods of hours, contracting and expanding in radial and non-radial oscillations. This is the prototype star, the one that defined the family. At 200 light-years away, in the small constellation of the Shield, its brightness varies softly every four and a half hours, like a cosmic heartbeat.
Where it is and when to see it
Delta 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 July, when it culminates around midnight.
- From London it culminates about 29° 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. 5 in brightness among the 18 stars of Scutum in our catalogue. To find it, start from Alpha Scutum, the brightest: it lies about 2° away (a fist at arm's length covers about 10°).
The light you see today left it about 200 years ago.
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Astronomical data for Delta Scutum
- Constellation
- Scutum
- Apparent magnitude
- 4.70
- Distance
- 202.5 light years
- Coordinates (J2000)
- RA 280.568° · Dec -9.053°
- Catalogue
- HIP 91726 · HD 172748
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Other stars in Scutum
Scutum has 18 stars in Stelvia's catalogue. Here are a few of them.
- Alpha Scutum3.85
- Beta Scutum4.22
- Zeta Scutum4.66
- Gamma Scutum4.67
- Eta Scutum4.83
- Epsilon Scutum4.88
- HIP 928145.08
- HIP 911055.12