This week, the waning crescent moon slides past Spica, the brightest star in the constellation of Virgo, the virgin. The passage takes place in the morning sky.
The chart shows the view looking due south from London at 6am (GMT) on the morning of 7 January. The moon will have 40% of its visible hemisphere illuminated, having just passed its last quarter phase.
Beyond 7 January, Spica will rise more or less at the same time each night, but the moon will rise later and later. The percentage of its lit surface will decrease as it approaches closer to the sun. Towards the end of next week, it will be reborn in the evening sky as a new moon.
The star Spica is situated about 250 light years away, and is one of the 20 brightest stars in the night sky. Its diameter is 7.5 times larger than the sun’s, and it shines more than 20,000 times more brightly.
From Sydney, Australia, the moon and Spica will be situated in the north-eastern sky on the morning of 7 January.
