Crescent Moon and Spica

The crescent moon appears near the bright star Spica tomorrow night. The two are low in the southwestern sky soon after sunset. The moon is right above the star.
Spica is the brightest star in the zodiacal constellation Virgo. It is the 17th brightest star in the sky.

Spica has a distinct bluish tint and is defined as a binary star, made up of two stars so close together that astronomers have a hard time separating the two. The two stars are only 11 million miles apart. Note that the Earth is 93 million miles from the Sun.

Its distance is 261 light years away, which means it is remarkably bright for its distance. Judging by the many other stars we see in the night sky, by its distance Spica is so luminous. If Spica were our sun we’d be toast.

In the coming week the crescent moon moves through the zodiacal constellation Libra and into the southern most zodiacal constellation Scorpius.20.

Sunrise and Sunset
Day Sunrise Sunset
Fri., August 21 5:55 7:33
Sat., August 22 5:56 7:31
Sun., August 23 5:57 7:29
Mon., August 24 5:58 7:28
Tues., August 25 5:59 7:26
Wed., August 26 6:00 7:25
Thurs., August 27 6:01 7:23
Fri., August 28 6:02 7:22
Temperatures and Precipitations
Day Max (Fº) Min (Fº) Inches
August 14 87 70 0.00
August 15 85 69 0.00
August 16 78 67 0.08
August 17 71 62 0.68
August 18 72 64 0.12
August 19 81 62 0.01
August 20 82 59 0.11

 

Water temperature in Edgartown harbor: 73º F

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