Bright Moon Approaches Spica (all night)

When the sky darkens on Friday evening, May 9 in the Americas, Spica, the brightest star in Virgo, will appear a short distance to the moon’s lower left – close enough for them to share the view in binoculars (orange circle). As the pair crosses the sky during the night, the moon’s orbital motion will carry it closer to the star and the rotation of the sky will shift Spica above the moon. Hours later, observers located within a zone extending southeast across the South Pacific from Micronesia, Melanesia, and southwest Polynesia almost to South America can see the moon occult Spica around 06:30 GMT.