Starwatch: Venus, Spica and a crescent moon meet at dawn
by Stuart Clark from Science | The Guardian on (#6GW39)
The morning star' will be joined by the brightest star of Virgo and a waning moon in both hemispheres
There is a beautiful triple meeting in the dawn sky this week. The brilliant morning star" of Venus is close to Spica, the brightest star of Virgo, the virgin. On the mornings of 8 and 9 December, the already pretty pairing will be joined by a thin waning crescent moon.
On 8 December, the moon will be closest to Spica and will have 22% of its visible surface illuminated. A day later, the moon will be closer to Venus and its illuminated portion will have shrunk to just 14%.
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