The nearly full moon will be 12 degrees above the eastern horizon and a good guide to two important bright stars, Spica and Arcturus by 9 p.m. Thursday, March 24.
Spica, the moon, and Arcturus will be in a straight line from right to left, respectively. The bright moon will overpower these stars, but they should still be visible.
Spica is to the right (south) of the moon 4 degrees, and Arcturus is to the left (north) of the moon 28 degrees.
Spica is in Virgo the Virgin, and is the 16th-brightest star in the sky. It is one of my favorite stars, because on a dark night with the moon out of the way, it is one of the bluest stars I know.
Arcturus is the fourth brightest star in the sky, and the handle of the Big Dipper points to it. Arcturus lies 37 light-years away. Its light was used to open the 1933 Worldโs Fair in Chicago, because that light had left Arcturus around the same time as the 1893 Chicago Worldโs Columbian Exposition.
Arcturus has 1 ยฝ times the mass of the sun and is a giant star with a diameter 25 times that of the sun. It has a distinctive orange or reddish-orange color, and is an old star near the end of its life. Contrast its color with that of Spica.
