Lying southward of Scorpius and westward of Ara, the main body of Norma is composed of a very approximate square of stars. These are all relatively faint, with the brightest, Gamma2 Normae, only reaching fourth magnitude. It is from the quadrangular arrangement of these stars that the constellation takes its name, referring to a level or set square.
A small constellation lying against a dense region of the Milky Way, and in fact giving its name to one of the Galaxy's minor spiral arms. It contains a number of distant star clusters, but little of interest is visible to the naked eye.
Norma takes its name from a level or carpenter's square, with that square is represented by a group of stars that form a rather irregular quadrangle rather than anything close to a precise square. None of these stars exceed fourth magnitude, with the brightest being Gamma2 Normae at the 'square's' southern corner. Imagery provided by Aladin sky atlas
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