Bright Moon Approaches Spica (all night)

After the bright, waning gibbous moon clears the rooftops in the southeast during mid-evening on Saturday, March 15, Virgo’s brightest star Spica will be twinkling to its lower left (or celestial east). As the night wears on, the moon will drift closer to the star while Earth’s rotation carries them west. Before sunrise on Sunday morning, the star will have shifted to the moon’s upper left. On Sunday evening, skywatchers in a zone stretching from eastern Africa and south across the Indian Ocean to southeastern Australia can watch the moon occult Spica. Lunar occultations of stars are safe to observe with unaided eyes, binoculars, and telescopes. Use an app like Starry Night to look up the timings where you live.