Norma (abbreviation: Nor), the Surveyor's Level, is a small southern constellation through which the Milky Way runs brilliantly. It lies north of Triangulum Australe and west of Ara. The original boundaries have been changed since Norma was first delineated, leaving it today with no stars labeled with Alpha or Beta. Two of its best attractions are the open clusters NGC 6067, near Gamma Nor (magnitude 5.6; diameter 13 arcminutes; RA 16h 18.9m, Dec –54° 13') and NGC 6087, a cluster of about 35 stars, including the Cepheid variable S Nor, that is well seen with binoculars (magnitude 5.4; diameter 12 arcminutes; RA 16h 18.9m, Dec –57° 54'). Norma is also home to the unusual planetary nebula Shapley 1.

 

Constellations

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