Should you missed the conjunction between the nearly full moon and the star Spica final month, right here’s one other likelihood to see it.
The chart exhibits the view trying south-west from London at 04.00 BST on the morning of 23 April. The moon shall be full with 99.3% of its seen floor illuminated, and it will likely be passing very near Spica, the brightest star within the constellation of Virgo.
Such conjunctions are frequent between these two celestial objects, as a result of Spica itself sits very near the ecliptic. That is the aircraft of the photo voltaic system, and so all of the planets, the solar and the moon orbit alongside or near this line within the sky. Thus, the moon passes Spica each month, someday even passing in entrance of it.
One other shiny star that’s near the ecliptic is Antares, the brightest star in Scorpius, the scorpion. It too is steadily near the moon, and sometimes occulted by it. From the southern hemisphere, the moon and Spica shall be seen within the north-western sky within the early hours of the morning, though they won’t be fairly so shut to 1 one other within the hours of native darkness.
