Norma

Norma is a small constellation in the Southern Celestial Hemisphere between Scorpius and Centaurus, one of twelve drawn up in the 18th century by French astronomer Nicolas Louis de Lacaille and one of several depicting scientific instruments. Its name is Latin for normal, referring to a right angle, and is variously considered to represent a rule, a carpenter's square, a set square or a level. It remains one of the 88 modern constellations.

History and mythology

The constellation Norma was introduced by Nicolas Louis de Lacaille in the 18th century, who originally named it l’Equerre et la Regle, French for "the square and rule". This was later Latinised to Norma et Regula. Despite this, the constellation has no mythology associated with it, as Lacaille did not associate his constellations with classical myths, instead choosing to name them after scientific instruments.

Characteristics

Norma is a small constellation bordered by Scorpius to the north, Lupus to the northwest, Circinus to the west, Triangulum Australe to the south, and Ara to the east. The constellation's brightest star, Gamma2 Normae, is only of magnitude 4.0.

Notable features

Norma has only one star brighter than magnitude 4.0: the 4.0-magnitude Gamma2 Normae. There are no meteor showers associated with the constellation.

See also

• List of stars in Norma
• Deep-sky object
• Astronomical naming conventions
• Nicolas Louis de Lacaille