Today:
As the bright winter stars of Orion retire in the west, two lonely bright stars rise toward their summer prominence in the skies in the east. Looking high in the northeast to find the Big Dipper, and follow the “arc” of its handle lower and to the right, locating the star Arcturus. Then continue the line farther right, where you can “spy” the star Spica, a blue-white beauty.
Wednesday:
April 2nd was the last time the Moon had a close encounter with Spica. At that time the Moon was barely Past full. This time the Moon is nearly full, set to be full again on May 1st. This evening, it won’t be until around 8:30 that the twilight will dim to the point where Spica will become visible. By that time, you can find the Moon about a quarter of the way up in the southeast, the bluish Spica just below the Moon, and to its left.
Thursday:
The waxing Gibbous Moon is just one day from being Full, known in May as the “Flower” Moon. This is a great time to see one of the Moon’s prominent craters, Tycho. Binoculars show it near the bottom as a hub for a series of lines radiating outward, or “rays”, caused when a meteor crashed into the Moon 110 million years ago.