NORMA
Norma, the Square, which lies within a lovely part of the
Milky Way, is centered in the image. Its brightest star, Gamma-2,
is the lowest (and brightest) of the small triangle just below center.
Gamma-1 is just up and to the right (to the west) of it.
Lupus is toward the upper right corner,
Ara is at the bottom edge, while Scorpius
is at the left. The bright star toward the left edge is
Zeta Sco. The dark clouds are regions of dense interstellar dust,
the reddish clouds diffuse nebulae ionized by hot stars, the blue clouds
reflection nebulae caused by starlight scattered from dust grains.
Image courtesy of Dr.
Axel Mellinger.