If you see the conjunction between the almost full moon and the star Spica last month, here’s another chance to see it.
The chart shows the view looking south-west from London at 04:00 BST on the morning of 23 April. The moon will be full with 99.3% of its visible surface illuminated, and it will pass very close to Spica, the brightest star in the constellation Virgo.
Such conjunctions are frequent between these two celestial objects, because Spica itself sits very close to the ecliptic. This is the plane of the solar system, and so all the planets, the sun and the moon orbit along or near this line in the sky. So the moon passes Spica every month, sometimes even before it passes.
Another bright star near the ecliptic is Antares, the brightest star in Scorpius, the scorpion. It is also frequently close to the moon, and sometimes occulted by it. From the southern hemisphere, the moon and Spica will be visible in the northwest sky in the early morning hours, although they will not be quite as close together during the hours of local darkness.
