Today:
At around 8:30 this evening, Mars and Spica again hover above the horizon in the west-southwest. But this time they cradle the Crescent Moon between them. The Moon will be the first to set, at 8:52 PM, Mars doing so immediately thereafter, and Spica dropping below the horizon by 9:15 PM.
Wednesday:
Flanked to its right by Spica, a slender, waxing Crescent Moon slides low above the southwestern horizon this evening, with the tips of its horns nearly vertical. This gives the appearance that the Moon cannot “hold water”, and therefore gives us the weather saying, “when the Moon cannot hold water, expect rain.”
Thursday:
A low, level view to the southwest shows that the Crescent Moon is now drifting farther away from the blue star Spica, and the two won’t rendezvous again until doing so during predawn hours in November and December. Spica is one of four bright stars the Moon tracks near each month, but the timing, and the Moon’s phase changes as the Earth’s orbit changes our viewing location.