Moon and Spica

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The Moon will stage a beautiful encounter tonight with one of the most prominent stars of spring: Spica, in the constellation Virgo. The star is a little to the lower left of the Moon as they rise in mid evening, and they'll be even closer at first light tomorrow.

Spica and the other stars that decorate the night sky form a giant calendar. They appear in the same place, at the same time, year after year.

The stars of Virgo rise a little after sunset at this time of year, and sail across the southern sky during the night. They rise about four minutes earlier each night, so they stand higher in the sky later on in the spring.

Because of this, Virgo is known as a spring constellation. You can see some or all of its stars on most nights of the year, but the stars put on their best display in the evening sky during spring.

When the constellation was first drawn, thousands of years ago, the Sun appeared against its stars during late summer -- a time when grain was ready to harvest. As a result, Virgo is associated with several goddesses of life and fertility. And Spica represents a stalk of wheat.

Look for Spica snuggling close to the Moon throughout the night. They'll be closest together at first light tomorrow, when they'll be low in the southwest. At their closest, they'll be separated by a degree or two -- about the width of a finger held at arm's length.

We'll have more about Virgo tomorrow.

Script by Damond Benningfield, Copyright 2005, 2008

For more skywatching tips, astronomy news, and much more, read StarDate magazine.