March 15-18, 2025: The bright waning gibbous moon passes Spica in the southwestern sky before sunrise.
by Jeffrey L. Hunt
Bright Moon Passes Spica
After yesterday’s lunar eclipse, the bright Worm Moon, now in is waning phases, passes Spica before sunrise.
Spica, Virgo’s brightest star, ranks as the 10th brightest star for sky watchers in the mid-northern latitudes. Shining from a distance of 250 light years, the star has an intrinsic brightness of nearly 2,000 suns.
Highlights
On these four mornings, the bright moon approaches, passes, and moves away from the star. Here’s what to look for:
- March 15: The bright Worm moon, 99% illuminated, casts its light across the landscape from the west-southwest. It is over 15° to the right of Spica. Look carefully for Porrima, also known as Gamma Virginis, 5.4° above the lunar orb.
- March 16: The waning gibbous moon, 96% illuminated, is nearly 20° up in the southwest, 4.6° to Spica’s lower right. Later tonight, the moon occults or eclipses the star for sky watchers in Madagascar and southern Africa. This is the 11th occultation of the star in a series of 20 that runs through November.
- March 17: The moon, 91% illuminated, is over 20° above the southwest horizon, 7.5° to Spica’s left.
- March 18: The gibbous moon, 85% illuminated, is over 20° above the south-southwest horizon, nearly 20° to Spica’s left. This morning the lunar orb is in front of Libra, 5.4° below Zubenelgenubi, the Scorpion’s southern claw.
Watch the bright waning moon approach and pass Spica during these four mornings.
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