Gibbous Moon Slides by Spica (evening)

When the sky darkens after dusk on Thursday, July 3, Virgo’s brightest star Spica will appear just to the upper right of the waxing gibbous moon in the southwestern sky. Until they set after midnight, the duo will share the view in binoculars (orange circle). Observers viewing the pair later, or in more westerly time zones, will see the moon’s easterly orbital motion carry it farther from the star. Hours earlier, that motion will cause the moon to pass in front of Spica for skywatchers located at the extreme southern end of South America and most of Antarctica.