The moon will journey near the brilliant star Spica above the southwestern horizon tonight (July 3) — and a few well-placed viewers will see the lunar disk move instantly in entrance of the brilliant stellar physique, occulting its mild.
Stargazers within the U.S. will discover the waxing gibbous moon above the southwestern horizon as the sun units on July 3, with Spica — the brightest star within the constellation Virgo — seen lower than 2 levels to the higher proper of the lunar disk.
Bear in mind, you possibly can estimate distances within the evening sky utilizing your outstretched hand. The width of your pinky finger measured on the tip accounts for roughly 1 diploma within the evening sky. By the point the pair set under the horizon within the early hours of July 4, the moon may have shifted to Spica’s left-hand aspect.
At a distance of 250 light-years from Earth, Spica seems to us as a single level of sunshine within the evening sky. In actuality, it’s a binary star system composed of two stellar our bodies a number of instances the scale of the solar, which collectively shine roughly 12,100 instances brighter than our father or mother star.
The moon orbits our Blue Marble at a mean distance of simply 238,860 miles (382,500 kilometers) — shut sufficient for its obvious place to shift by as much as 2 levels relative to the starfield past, relying on the place you’re viewing from on Earth.
As such, a really small proportion of our planet’s inhabitants will see the moon slide instantly in entrance of Spica within the coming hours. This occasion, often called an occultation, will happen within the hours following 3:51 p.m. EDT (19:51 GMT) on July 3 and will likely be seen to stargazers located in Antarctica, the Falkland Islands, and the southernmost ideas of Chile and Argentina.
Editor’s Observe: If you happen to seize a shot of the moon and Spica collectively and need to share it with House.com’s readers, then please ship your picture, feedback, title and placement to spacephotos@area.com.