Do not miss the crescent moon meet up with blue star Spica on Aug. 27

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The slender crescent moon can be positioned near the brilliant star Spica at sundown on Aug. 27, however you will must be fast to catch a glimpse of the cosmic duo earlier than they comply with the sun under the horizon!

Look to the west because the solar units on Aug. 27 to search out the 18%-lit waxing crescent moon somewhat over 15 levels above the western horizon, with Spica — the brightest star within the constellation Virgo — positioned lower than 6 levels to the correct of the lunar disk. Remember, the width of your center three fingers held at arm’s size accounts for roughly 5 levels within the night time sky.

The moon and Spica will swiftly set somewhat over an hour and a half after sundown, with Mars positioned to their proper, so make sure you discover a location with a transparent view of the western horizon to make sure that you get an excellent view of the fleet-footed pair.

Spica, which seems as a stunning blue-white star to the unaided eye, is the truth is a binary star system composed of two large stellar our bodies that orbit each other with a separation of simply 11 million miles (18 million kilometers). Together, they shine extra brightly than over 12,100 suns, however at a distance of 250 light-years they’re simply outdone by the glow of the close by crescent moon.

Turning a pair of 10×50 binoculars or a small telescope on the moon will reveal the presence of a number of distinguished craters alongside the road separating night time from day on the lunar floor, often known as the terminator. The historical lava plain Mare Crisium (Latin for the Sea of Crises) will even be seen as a darkish oval within the higher part of the lunar crescent, with the sprawling expanse of Mare Fecunditatis (the Sea of Fertility) arrayed under.

Be certain to attend till the solar is totally under the horizon earlier than looking for the moon with a telescope or binoculars, to keep away from everlasting harm to your imaginative and prescient. The coming days will see the moon journey away from Spica to brush previous the crimson supergiant star Antares the night time earlier than Earth’s pure satellite tv for pc reaches its first quarter section on Aug. 31.

Stargazers hoping to discover the majesty of the lunar floor for themselves ought to learn our roundups of one of the best telescope and binocular offers, whereas these new to navigating the night time sky ought to take a look at our information to the highest smartphone stargazing apps out there in 2025.

Editor’s Note: If you seize an image of the moon with Spica and need to share it with Space.com’s readers, then please ship your picture(s), feedback, identify and the placement of your shoot to [email protected].