The brilliant Spica star will seem to dance around the Earth’s moon on the night of May 9. Here we show him how to catch the heavenly couple at stake before the ‘Flower Moon’ next week.
Stargazers should look for the moon and spicy hanging on the eastern horizon on May 9 after sunset.
The Gibosa of hair removal will shine intensely, with only a thin crescent of shadow along its edge. Look to the lower left after 10 pm local time: once the astronomical twilight fades, the bright Spica Spica will be easier to detect. The duo will be visible to the naked eye and close enough to share the same field of vision in a couple of binoculars.
Higher telescope choice:
Why explore the solar system before the ‘Flower Moon’? The Celestron Nexstar 4 is ideal for beginners who want quality views, reliable and rapid of heavenly objects. For a deeper look at our Celestron Nexstar 4se review.
Through the night, Spica will seem to move around the moon, and have traveled from the lower left of their dance partner until the moment the couple is placed under the horizon on the morning of April 10.
While cosmic matching may appear near the night sky on April 9, they are amazing remote to each other. Spica is, after all, the most luminous star of the Virgo Zodiac constellation, and is about 250 light years from Earth. The Moon, on the other hand, is only 238,855 miles (384,400 km) away on average, which is equivalent to 0.0000000406 light years.
Although Spica may appear as a single point of light to the united eye, it is formed by a pair of gravitational stars that orbit once four days, according to NASA.
While you are looking at the sky on May 9, look high in the South sky near midnight to detect Arcturus, one of the brightest stars of the northern hemisphere, shining to the upper left of the moon. Meanwhile, Mars will shine near the horizon.
The moon reaches its full moon phase on May 12. This particular moon in particular is also known as the ‘moon of flowers’ for some, since it tends to appear in May, as well as the American and European flowers are flourished. If you are interested in capturing images of Flower Moon or simply update your astronomy team, be sure to see our guides to see the best binocular offers and the best telescope offers. Our guides in the best astrophotography cameras and the best astrophotography lenses can also help you immortalize your stars column sessions.
Editor’s note: If you take a photo of the duo and want to share it with the readers of Space.com, send your photos, comments and your name and location to spacephotos@space.com.
