You’ll find the bright waxing gibbous moon near the star Spica and the planet Saturn on the evening of May 31, 2012. Although both Spica and Saturn shine brightly, they’ll be harder than usual to see tonight because of the lunar glare. Can you see them? Binoculars might help, if you have them.
Saturn, the sixth planet outward from the sun, will shine in front of the constellation Virgo until almost the end of 2012. Blue-white Spica, the brightest star in Virgo, contrasts beautifully with golden Saturn, the most distant world that you can easily see with the unaided eye.
When the moon drops out of the early evening sky around the second week of June 2012, be sure to savor the beauty of these colorful celestial gems in the darkness of night.
Spica is a whirling double star
Earth passed between Saturn and the sun on April 15 of this year. That was Saturn’s yearly opposition, and it means that we’re farther from Saturn now than we were six weeks ago. We’re now racing ahead of Saturn in Earth’s smaller, faster orbit around the sun. So Saturn is steadily appearing dimmer on our sky’s dome, and it’s slowly but surely spending less time in the sky each night. Presently, Saturn sets just before the onset of morning dawn. However, by the time that July rolls around, Saturn will set around midnight.
Saturn, like all planets, will be shining with a steadier light than the twinkling stars, and it’ll be the farther of these two bright lights from the moon on May 31. In contrast to the moon, Saturn moves at a snail’s pace in front the constellations of the Zodiac. By tomorrow night, the moon will have moved onward, toward the constellation Libra and pursuing its endless orbit around Earth.
Will you be able to see the star Spica and the planet Saturn in the glare of the waxing gibbous moon tonight (May 31, 2012)?
