Starwatch: moon will obscure brightest star in Virgo

Moon will move in front of Spica into early hours of 14 July

This week the first quarter moon will make a close pass of Spica, the brightest star in the constellation Virgo, the virgin. The chart shows the view looking west/south-west from London at 11pm (BST) on the evening of 13 July.

The moon will creep closer to the star as midnight passes and we move into the early hours of 14 July, but the constellation will be setting fast too. The moon will be about 7.5 days old and almost exactly 50% of its visible surface will be illuminated.