Podcasts about Spica

If you follow the arc to Arcturus and keep the curve going even farther down into the south, you'll come to the faint bluish star, Spica.

The star Spica, which is quite close to the Moon tonight, is quite different from the Sun. It consists of two stars, not one. Both stars are many times bigger and heavier than the Sun. And their surfaces are tens of thousands of degrees hotter, so the stars shine blue-white. On the other hand, the Sun and Spica are made of almost exactly the same ingredients: mainly hydrogen and helium, with only a smattering of heavier elements. That composition was figured out by an astronomer who was born 125 years ago tomorrow, in England. Cecilia Payne caught the astronomy bug when she saw a lecture by Arthur Eddington, one of the world’s leading astronomers. She started her education in England, then finished in the United States. She earned a Ph.D. in 1925. And her doctoral thesis shook up the field. Decades later, in fact, Otto Struve, the first director of McDonald Observatory, called it the most brilliant thesis ever written in the field. Astronomers already had the techniques for measuring what stars are made of. Their work led them to believe that stars contain the same mixture of elements as Earth. But Payne used a new way to analyze the readings, taking into account the charge of atoms. She concluded that stars were made mainly of hydrogen and helium – elements formed in the Big Bang. By a few years later, just about everyone accepted her analysis – completely changing our concept of the stars. Script by Damond Benningfield

Hosted by Chris Beckett & Shane Ludtke, two amateur astronomers in Saskatchewan. actualastronomy@gmail.com Episode 480: May 2 - Vesta at Opposition May 3 - Mars Moon and Beehive May 4 - First Quarter Moon - Lunar X visible on Moon. May 5 - Lunar Straight Wall Visible & Maginus Ray May 6 - Eta Aquarid Meteor Shower Peak - ZHR 50 but usually 30, though in 2013 it reached over 130! From Comet Halley. May 10/11 - Moon passes within ½ degree of Spica all night May 14/15 - Endymion sunset rays visible on Moon May 15 - Titan Shadow Transit Visible May 27 - New Moon -  Omega Centauri well placed. May 31 - Venus at Greatest Elongation in morning Sky 46-degrees from Sun.   We've added a new way to donate to 365 Days of Astronomy to support editing, hosting, and production costs.  Just visit: https://www.patreon.com/365DaysOfAstronomy and donate as much as you can! Share the podcast with your friends and send the Patreon link to them too!  Every bit helps! Thank you! ------------------------------------ Do go visit http://www.redbubble.com/people/CosmoQuestX/shop for cool Astronomy Cast and CosmoQuest t-shirts, coffee mugs and other awesomeness! http://cosmoquest.org/Donate This show is made possible through your donations.  Thank you! (Haven't donated? It's not too late! Just click!) ------------------------------------ The 365 Days of Astronomy Podcast is produced by the Planetary Science Institute. http://www.psi.edu Visit us on the web at 365DaysOfAstronomy.org or email us at info@365DaysOfAstronomy.org.

This month on Minnesota Night Skies, the Milky Way in May! Mars in the Beehive cluster: best band name ever or astronomical event? Find out May3 and 4th The Eta Aquariid meteor shower early in the mornings of May 6 and 7  Galaxies in Virgo: you'll need a telescope, but even a gently used one can open up a world of delights.  You can't see these galaxies with your eyes, but with a telescope and a map, you can galaxy hop across Virgo! Corvus the crow has lots of galaxies in it,too, but it can be a little tricky to find. Follow arc of the Big Dipper's handle, the second bright star is Spica, and Corvus is just a little to the right of that. The International Space Station returns at dusk - download NASA's Spot the Station app or go to the Spot the Station website Plus, Bob just won the 2025 Regional Award for contributions to public and amateur astronomy from the North Central Region of the Astronomical League!   Astro Bob is podcasting! Astro Bob King and Echo Press reporter and host Lisa Johnson did an astronomy radio show together for many years, and now they're back on a new podcast for all of Minnesota, called Minnesota Night Skies.  Bob King is an amateur astronomer, an photographer and author. His most recent book is called “Magnificent Aurora” about the Northern Lights. He writes a syndicated column for the Duluth News Tribune and is a regular contributor to Sky & Telescope magazine.  Bob recommends several guides to help you find what's up in the sky. For more information about the star maps and a local information calendar, you can check out Skymaps.com. Also look for  Stellarium Mobile where you get your apps. It's available for both Apple and Android phones. And check out Heavens Above at Heavens Above.com.

The most amazing object visible through a small telescope doesn’t look all that remarkable. In fact, it looks like a faint star. Yet that point of light packs the power of 10 trillion Suns – the power of a quasar. 3C 273 is the first quasar ever discovered. When astronomers first saw it, they thought it was just another star. It looks like a star, and its main ingredient is like a star’s as well. But when they measured its distance, they were astonished: 3C 273 was two and a half billion light-years away. That meant it couldn’t be a star at all. Instead, they classified it as a quasi-stellar object – a quasar. Astronomers eventually figured out that it’s powered by a black hole at the heart of a giant galaxy. The black hole is about 900 million times the mass of the Sun. Its enormous gravity pulls in huge amounts of gas and dust, and maybe some stars. That material forms a spinning disk around the black hole. The disk is heated to millions of degrees, so it shines brilliantly – bright enough to see from two and a half billion light-years away. 3C 273 is in Virgo. The constellation’s brightest star, Spica, is low in the southeast at nightfall. The quasar stands high above it, about a third of the way up the sky. Despite its great power, it’s too faint to see with the eye alone. But a telescope reveals this deceptive wonder – a monster masquerading as a star. Script by Damond Benningfield

This Full Moon in Libra conjunct the lovely star Spica offers perspective on where we, and the world, are now.

The full Moon has an especially close companion tonight: Spica, the brightest star of Virgo. From the eastern half of the country, they’ll appear to almost touch each other as night falls. They’ll be a bit farther apart for those in the west, but still close. A dozen American astronauts walked on the Moon, with the final steps coming half a century ago. Their missions are among those commemorated today – the International Day of Human Spaceflight. The day was established by the United Nations, in 2011, to “celebrate the beginning of the space era for all mankind.” That era began on this date in 1961, when the Soviet Union launched the first human into space. Yuri Gagarin made one orbit around Earth aboard Vostok 1, then parachuted to the ground after re-entering the atmosphere. Exactly 20 years later, the United States launched the first space shuttle. The U.N. General Assembly named those missions, along with the first Moon landing, as motivation for the Day of Human Spaceflight. The first celebration of the date came in 2001. A private group created “Yuri’s Night,” which continues today. It combines science and engineering with music, art, and other activities. Space centers, museums, planetariums, and other venues host events to celebrate the date. If you can’t make it, though, celebrate on your own by watching the Moon – the site of the first human steps beyond our own planet. Script by Damond Benningfield

Sonntagfrüh ist zum ersten Mal seit Frühlingsanfang Vollmond. Daher ist am Sonntag darauf Ostern. Der Ostervollmond steht bei Spica in der Jungfrau. Dort ziehen zwei Sterne so dicht umeinander, dass die Anziehungskräfte sie kurios verformen. Lorenzen, Dirk www.deutschlandfunk.de, Sternzeit

This month on Minnesota Night Skies, it's a quiet month as we wait for spring to finally arrive, but there are a few things to look out for. Aurora season continues over most of Minnesota! Mars aligns with Gemini's bright start Castor and Pollux on April 10. Look for the smallest full moon of the year, the so-called micro-moon on April 12.  Don't believe it?  Bob has tips to assemble photographic proof. Also April 12, there's a close conjunction with Spica in Virgo. Look for the peak of the annual Lyrid meteor shower April 22. Venus has flipped over to the morning sky after it passed between the Earth and sun. We'll have a nice conjunction of Venus, Saturn and the crescent moon on April 25 very low at dawn.   And watch Jupiter and Mars move to the east at a good clip this month as they orbit the sun.   Plus, for the first time ever, Bob reads poetry!   Next month on Minnesota Night Skies, another meteor shower to look forward to, plus more pleasant weather (we hope) to encourage folks to spend the night out under the stars.   Astro Bob is podcasting! Astro Bob King and Echo Press reporter and host Lisa Johnson did an astronomy radio show together for many years, and now they're back on a new podcast for all of Minnesota, called Minnesota Night Skies.  Bob King is an amateur astronomer, an photographer and author. His most recent book is called “Magnificent Aurora” about the Northern Lights. He writes a syndicated column for the Duluth News Tribune and is a regular contributor to Sky & Telescope magazine.  Bob recommends several guides to help you find what's up in the sky. For more information about the star maps and a local information calendar, you can check out Skymaps.com. Also look for  Stellarium Mobile where you get your apps. It's available for both Apple and Android phones.

You don’t need a thermometer to take a star’s temperature. All you need is your eyes. That’s because a star’s color is a direct result of its surface temperature. The hottest stars glow blue-white, while the coolest look reddish orange. One example is the star Spica. It rises below the Moon this evening, and the Moon moves closer to it during the night. Spica is a system of two stars locked in a tight orbit around each other. Both stars are bigger, heavier, brighter, and hotter than the Sun. The main star, Spica A, is by far the more impressive member of the system. Its surface is a broiling 45 thousand degrees Fahrenheit, compared to just 10 thousand degrees for the Sun. That makes the star look blue-white. Under dark skies, with no moonlight, that color is pretty easy to see with the eye alone. We can make out the color because Spica is both close and especially bright – more than 2,000 times the Sun’s brightness at visible wavelengths. But if our eyes could see other forms of energy, Spica A would appear even brighter. Because its surface is so hot, the star emits most of its energy as ultraviolet light – wavelengths that are too short for the eye to see. So when you add up all wavelengths, Spica A glows more than 20 thousand times brighter than the Sun – a blue-white spotlight that tonight snuggles close to the Moon. Tomorrow: bellying up to a cosmic bar. Script by Damond Benningfield

The Moon has an especially close companion at dawn tomorrow: Spica, the brightest star of Virgo. Depending on your location, they might be separated by as little as the width of a pencil held at arm’s length. And from some parts of the world, the Moon will briefly cover the star. Spica is a binary – two stars locked in orbit around each other. They’re so close together that we can’t see them as individual stars. If we could line up the Sun and the system’s main star, Spica A, at the same distance, Spica A would look more than 2,000 times brighter than the Sun. But that’s only part of the story. The surface of Spica A is tens of thousands of degrees hotter than the Sun. Such hot stars produce much of their light in the ultraviolet. If you add that to the equation, Spica A is about 20 thousand times the Sun’s brightness. The star is so hot because it’s especially heavy – roughly a dozen times the mass of the Sun. Gravity squeezes the star’s core much more tightly than the Sun’s core. That makes the core extremely hot, which revs up its nuclear fusion reactions. Energy from those reactions heats the surrounding layers. But such massive stars don’t live long. Spica A is only about 12 million years old, compared to four and a half billion years for the Sun. Yet it’s already completed the prime phase of its life. Within a few million years, it’s likely to explode as a supernova – a brilliant demise for a brilliant star. Script by Damond Benningfield

The Sun is moving through Aquarius stars, where all the star names have to do with good fortune, hidden treasure, and wishes that come true, while the Moon is sweeping past Spica, the star of abundance. It's worth paying attention to this scene now, and for the next several months.

Agradece a este podcast tantas horas de entretenimiento y disfruta de episodios exclusivos como éste. ¡Apóyale en iVoox! En este capítulo de Los mundos del Cosmos terminamos nuestro repaso a las 20 estrellas más brillantes que podemos ver en el firmamento de la Tierra, hablando también de algunos de los casos más curiosos, como el descubrimiento de un planeta (Fomalhaut b) que finalmente, años después, resultó no ser cierto... Música: Epidemic Sound Escucha el episodio completo en la app de iVoox, o descubre todo el catálogo de iVoox Originals

Despite its appearance, the Moon is dark. On average, its surface reflects only about a tenth of the sunlight that strikes it. But some regions are much brighter than their surroundings. They contain loops and squiggles that can stretch for dozens of miles. Some are big enough to see through small telescopes. And planetary scientists are still trying to figure out what causes them. These features are known as lunar swirls. Many of them look like ribbons of cream poured into a cup of hot coffee. The most famous, Reiner Gamma, looks like a tadpole. It has an oval “head,” with a wiggly tail that extends far across the dark plains around it. All of the swirls have especially strong magnetic fields. The Moon itself doesn’t generate a magnetic field. But pockets of magnetic force might have been “frozen” in place in the rocks. The magnetic field forms a protective dome. It deflects the solar wind – a flow of charged particles from the Sun. The particles are diverted away from the swirl. They may darken the surrounding area, but leave the swirl fairly bright. The magnetic pockets could be created by impacts by iron-rich meteorites, below-ground flows of molten rock, or some other process. NASA plans to land a rover in Reiner Gamma as early as next year – perhaps revealing the origins of these bright features on the dark lunar surface. Look for the Moon in the wee hours of tomorrow morning. The bright star Spica stands close by. Script by Damond Benningfield

The next total eclipse of the Sun is almost two years away. But astronomers will watch many “total eclipses” between now and then. Known as occultations, they occur when one astronomical object passes in front of another, blocking the more distant one from view. The most frequent “blocker” is the Moon. And early tomorrow it’ll block out Spica, the brightest star of Virgo. Spica is just two degrees from the ecliptic, which is the Sun’s path across the sky. The Moon moves five degrees to either side of the ecliptic, allowing it to cover the bright star. And they’re going through a series of occultations now. Tonight’s event is the last one visible from the United States this year. Spica consists of two heavy stars that orbit each other once every four days. Occultations have helped astronomers decipher the system’s multiple personality, and learn some of its details. The main star, Spica A, is more than 11 times the mass and seven times the diameter of the Sun. Because it’s so massive, within a few million years the star will blast itself to bits as a supernova. Spica B is no slouch, either. But it’s not quite heavy enough to become a supernova. Instead, it will cast its outer layers into space more gently, leaving behind a small, hot corpse. Spica and the Moon climb into view just a couple of hours before dawn. The occultation will be visible across most of the country. The exact timing depends on your location. Script by Damond Benningfield

Robin interviews Spica while Sundog takes care of something a bit more... exciting. Music Credits: Intro: Starting - Kenichiro Suehiro Zero's Theme: Chasing Inspiration - Yair Albeg Wein The Third Supernova: An Inherited Power - Yuki Hayashi Saving the Day: HEROES N.C. 1978 - Ike Yorihiro Postfight: After a Time - Ike Yorihiro Investigation: Werewolf and Vampire - Masaru Yokoyama Felix's Theme: ショウシツ点よ笛 - Toe Villainous Action: Aftermath - Ike Yorihiro Robin's Theme: Ghosts - David "Dirtiest" Dycus Steiner Sombre: がんばってＤＡＶＩＤさん - 私はゲイだ End of Session: BIG TREE - Ike Yorihiro Outro: Wings - Thomas Bergersen

For the Moon, it’s another night, another bright companion. After passing close to the brightest star of Gemini and the planet Mars over the past couple of nights, tonight it takes aim at Regulus, the heart of the lion. The star climbs into good view directly below the Moon after midnight. The Moon will move toward the star during the night, so they’ll be much closer at dawn. The Moon passes near these bright lights because, just like the Moon, they all stay close to the ecliptic. That’s an invisible line that marks the Sun’s annual path across the sky. The stars all maintain a fixed position relative to the ecliptic – at least on human timescales. Over the millennia, the ecliptic itself actually shifts a little – the result of a slow wobble in Earth’s axis. The orbits of the Moon and planets are tilted a bit. That causes those bodies to move back and forth across the ecliptic. The planets cross the ecliptic every few months or years. But the Moon crosses every couple of weeks. It spends two weeks to the north of the ecliptic, then two weeks to the south of it. Tonight, it’s a few degrees to the north. Early Monday, though, it will cross to the southern side. And that will set up an especially close encounter with the next bright light along the ecliptic: Spica the brightest star of Virgo. In fact, the Moon will pass directly in front of the star early Wednesday. We’ll tell you all about that next week. Script by Damond Benningfield

This moon asks us to find something meaningful to fight for and/or to turn our swords to ploughshares. Witness the fullness of your process around your sacred warrior energy, the difference between being self-centered vs centered in Self. Where can we light lamps and curse the forces that would diminish that light? Spica and Arcturus oversee the dispensation of gifts, and the consequences of withholding from those in need. Thoth and Nepthys and Cernunnos and more all show up this week to help us understand the step we are taking in the Underworld Journey. Notes for each week's podcast are available for Patrons at the Mercury level and higher. MECA is on the ground to provide Gaza with medical aid, clean water, food, psychological support, and more. Give what you can at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.mecaforpeace.org/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Support this podcast by joining my Patreon!⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Thanks for listening! Your support is very appreciated. Questions? Comments? Wanna submit a question? Contact me through ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠meaganangus.com/contact⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. One-time donations and support gratefully accepted at: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.paypal.me/meagananguswitch⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/meagan-angus/support

In this episode: A talisman of war. The Heliacal Rising of Spica. The sourdough familiar. Ritual vessels for Spica. Halloween! A candle dressing for protection. Yew. Pumpkins. Buckeyes. Usnea. The Dead: Local, Familial, Heroic. Dumb suppers. Pots for the Local Dead. A wash against miasma. A working to welcome in the Ancestors. Offerings to the Devil's Plot. A Saint Lazarus ritual against illness. A lot of dirt. Preparing the way for the Winter Mother and the First Snows. The full episode is available on Patreon, to all members of the Nettle and Hawthorn tiers! Cheers, Mahigan

Robin learns the horrifying truth behind Tiffany's existence, Felix gets officially broken up with, Zero trains with Spica, and all of them go talk to a gorilla cyborg president.   Music Credits: Intro: Damn Cowardly School - Yuki Hayashi Rising Action: The Thoughts - Kenichiro Suehiro Delarue Downer: Exhausted Options - Brad Podray Team Talk: Residents of Paradise - Kenichiro Suehiro Robin's Theme: Ghosts - David "Dirtiest" Dycus History's Worst Guy: Sign of Fear - Masaru Yokoyama The Third Supernova: An Inherited Power - Yuki Hayashi Training Arc: Tell Me Something New (Tigerblood Jewel Remix), Instrumental - Wellmess A Nonviolent Solution: NEXT - Ike Yorihiro End of Session: BIG TREE - Ike Yorihiro Outro: Wings - Thomas Bergersen

In most star systems, Spica B would be a monster. It’s about seven times the mass of the Sun, and more than 2,000 times brighter. Its heft puts it in the top one-tenth of one percent of all the stars in the Milky Way Galaxy. But Spica B has a companion that’s far more impressive. Spica A is more than 10 times the Sun’s mass, and 20 thousand times its brightness. And it has a more impressive fate: It’ll explode as a supernova. On the other hand, Spica B will live tens of millions of years longer than Spica A. That’s because of the difference in mass. Heavier stars burn through their nuclear fuel more quickly; the heavier the star, the faster and hotter it burns. So while Spica A is quite young, it’s already completed the “prime” phase of life. Now, it’s getting bigger and brighter as it approaches the end. After Spica A explodes, Spica B will still have another 60 million years or so left. Even so, its lifetime will be quite short – about 10 billion years less than the Sun. And when its time is up, it probably won’t explode. Instead, it’ll cast off its outer layers in a less-violent process. That will leave only its hot but tiny core, shining faintly for many billions of years to come. Look for the Spica system quite close to the Moon as darkness falls. It looks like a single point of light. The planet Venus – the brilliant “evening star” – stands to their lower right. Script by Damond Benningfield

Dr Ian Musgrave brings us his September SkyGuide … telling us when, where and what to look for in the evening and morning skies this month. As usual Ian also gives us his ‘Tangent' ... this time al about Full Moons, Apogee moons and Perigee moons, and how an astrologer made a typo leading to how our understanding of 'Blue Moons' has been somewhat flawed Also Ian is continuing his ‘Astrophotography Challenge' where he presents us with not one, but a trio of achievable and challenging tasks to undertake with our cameras in September. This month our challenge is to capture a Comet, a Nova and capturing a perigee and apogee moon with the same zoom settings, and an occultation. Moon Phases for September New Moon - 3 September - best for seeing the faint fuzzies and clusters Apogee Moon furthest from Earth - 6 September 1st Quarter Moon - 11 September Full Moon - 18 September Perigee Full Moon is also closest to Earth -18 September Last Quarter Moon - 25 September Evening Sky Venus in the evening twilight, close to thin crescent moon on the 5th, and close to Spica on the 18th. Saturn - almost edge on in the late evening, and for those in Northern Australia north of Alice Springs, an occultation on 17 September at about 6:20 in the evening .... and the centre of our galaxy is directly overhead this month, so when the sky is very dark this week (New Moon) and around to 25th (last quarter moon), please do get out and have a look at our magnificent Milky Way! Morning Sky Mercury has returned, low in the morning sky. Saturn rising ... always beautiful! Mars is moving into Gemini, and Jupiter getting higher also prominent in the morning sky, and may be joined by Comet C/2023A3 later on in the month, Comet C/2023A3 is closest to the sun on September 27, in the early morning if it doesn't disintegrate, but comets are like cats ... "they have tails and do as the please" Corona Borealis still hasn't banged, but is still expected to pop off before the end of September. Occultation of Antares best from Perth 10-11 September Ian's September Astrophotography Challenges: 1. Capture the apogee and perigee with same zoom. 2. Capture the comet oround the 13th or 14th, 3. Occultation 4. Corona Borealis Nova explosion Next Episode: In 2 weeks, to celebrate our 200th episode, we are bringing you a sensational interview with Larissa Palethorpe, a young PhD from Edinburgh University who has discovered the most earth-like planet yet … and it's only 40 Light years away You'll love Larissa and her earth-shattering research. Keep looking up!

Different stars face different fates. The smallest will shine feebly for trillions of years – many times longer than the current age of the universe – then simply fade away. The heaviest, on the other hand, will blast themselves to bits, briefly shining brighter than billions of normal stars. A bright star that faces such a violent end is in good view tonight. Spica stands to the upper left of the Moon as night falls. Spica actually consists of two stars. The heavier star, Spica A, is about 10 times the mass of the Sun. Such stars burn through their nuclear fuel in a hurry. That makes them extremely bright. But it also means they won’t live long. For Spica A, the prime of life will last for less than 30 million years, compared to about 10 billion years for the Sun. When the star can no longer produce nuclear reactions in its core, the core will collapse. The star’s outer layers will fall inward, then rebound at a few percent of the speed of light. That’ll blast the star apart as a supernova. Its companion, Spica B, is about six times the Sun’s mass. If it survives the supernova, it’ll live more than a hundred million years. At the end of its lifetime, it’ll swell up to many times its current size, just as Spica A will. But it’s not massive enough to explode. Instead, it’ll lose its outer layers in a less-violent process. That’ll leave only its dead core, shining faintly through the long cosmic night. Script by Damond Benningfield

The Moon gets especially cozy with the star Spica this evening. From much of the United States, in fact, the Moon will pass in front of the bright star, blocking it from view for a while. Astronomers will keep an eye on the event – called an occultation – to learn more about Spica. In earlier days, occultations also helped scientists map the Moon. The way a star disappeared and reappeared could reveal the contours of lunar mountains, valleys, and craters. We still see those features during occultations, but they’ve been well mapped. Scientists have been making maps of the Moon for centuries. Perhaps the earliest known map – a truly accurate chart of lunar features – was created by William Gilbert, a British scientist and a physician to Queen Elizabeth I. He drew it no later than 1603, before the invention of the telescope, using his eyes alone. But it wasn’t published until 1651. By then, Polish astronomer Johannes Hevelius had published a whole atlas of the Moon, made with a telescope. He named many of the lunar features. Eventually, though, the names were superseded by those created just a few years later by Giovanni Riccioli, a scientist and Jesuit priest. And most of his names are still in use today. Many more names have been added in recent decades, thanks to the detailed pictures taken by orbiting spacecraft. All of those names are found on modern maps of the Moon. Script by Damond Benningfield

Hosted by Rob Webb. July's fireworks include Saturn coming back around closer to being an evening planet, Mercury and Venus dancing low in the evenings, and some magic between the Moon and Spica.   1st - Waning Crescent Moon is just above Mars in the AM 3rd - Up and to the left of Jupiter in the AM 6th - Above Venus, to the left of Mercury, NNW just after sunset 7th - Above Mercury, NNW just after sunset 24th - To the right of Saturn, after 11pm, waning gibbous 25th - To the left of Saturn, after 11pm, waning gibbous 30th - Above Mars and Jupiter, ENE after 2am, waning crescent 31st - Left of Jupiter, ENE after 2am, waning crescent   July 13th – Lunar Occultation of Spica – Not so common to be able to see a star stop shining and then start back up again…sort of. Check https://is.gd/july2024spica for timings for your area, but the gist is that North and Central America, particularly on the Eastern side, will be able to watch Spica wink out as the dark side of the Moon crosses in front of it.  As an example, if you live near Harrisburg, PA, look WSW for the Moon after 11pm.  Right around 11:24pm Spica will disappear.  Unfortunately, this happens only about 10° above the horizon, leaving the reappearance invisible to us.  Reappearance will be visible before the Moon hits the horizon if you live approximately west of the Mississippi. Music was produced by Deep Sky Dude and used with permission.    We've added a new way to donate to 365 Days of Astronomy to support editing, hosting, and production costs.  Just visit: https://www.patreon.com/365DaysOfAstronomy and donate as much as you can! Share the podcast with your friends and send the Patreon link to them too!  Every bit helps! Thank you! ------------------------------------ Do go visit http://www.redbubble.com/people/CosmoQuestX/shop for cool Astronomy Cast and CosmoQuest t-shirts, coffee mugs and other awesomeness! http://cosmoquest.org/Donate This show is made possible through your donations.  Thank you! (Haven't donated? It's not too late! Just click!) ------------------------------------ The 365 Days of Astronomy Podcast is produced by the Planetary Science Institute. http://www.psi.edu Visit us on the web at 365DaysOfAstronomy.org or email us at info@365DaysOfAstronomy.org.

This might come as a bit of a surprise, but no star is perfectly round. A star’s rotation, and the gravitational tug of any companion stars, can distort the shape. So most stars are slightly flattened. The Sun, for example, is about six miles wider through the equator than through the poles. The Sun’s average diameter is about 865 thousand miles, though, so that slight flattening isn’t noticeable. But some stars are so squashed that they look like lozenges. And still others look like eggs. Two egg-shaped stars form the system known as Spica, the leading light of the constellation Virgo. Both of Spica’s stars are much bigger, brighter, and heavier than the Sun. And the stars are quite close together. Their surfaces are just a few million miles apart — so close that we can’t see them as individual stars even through the largest telescopes. Because the stars are so big, their grip on their outer layers of gas is pretty weak. And at their tight range, the gravity of each star exerts a pretty good pull on the other. That distorts the shapes of both stars — it makes them “bulge” outward. So if we could see the system up close, both stars would look like eggs, with the narrow ends pointing toward each other. Look for Spica close to the left or lower left of the Moon as darkness falls this evening. The bright star will stand about the same distance to the right of the Moon tomorrow night. Script by Damond Benningfield

If you follow the arc to Arcturus and keep the curve going even farther down into the south, you'll come to a fainter bluish star, Spica.

IWDominate, MonteCristo, and dGon discuss LCS roster drama at Dignitas with exYu and Spica, FlyQuest's decision to bench Jensen for Quad, strong performers at MSI, TES on fraud alert, the best events in League of Legends history, the backstory on Last Free Nation's live event at Worlds 2022, and more!

When astronomers look at Spica, they see double. Or at least their instruments do. The system consists of two stars. But they're so close together that even the biggest telescopes see them as a single point of light. So it took a technique called spectroscopy to “see” the system as a binary. The technique splits the light from a star into its individual wavelengths. Each chemical element imprints its own “barcode” in that spectrum of light. In the case of Spica, there are two sets of those barcodes. And they shift back and forth a tiny bit — the result of the orbital motion of the stars around each other. Careful study of the two spectra has revealed many details about the system. For example, the main star is much bigger and more massive than the Sun. It's destined to explode as a supernova. The other star isn't quite as impressive, but still far more impressive than the Sun. It probably won't explode, but instead will leave a small but heavy corpse. The stars orbit each other once every four days. Their surfaces are only a few million miles apart — so close that the gravity of each star distorts the shape of the other — one more amazing finding about this impressive double star. To the eye alone, Spica looks like a single bright star. Tonight, it's close to the lower left of the Moon at nightfall. The Moon slides toward it during the night, so they're especially close as they set, in the wee hours of the morning. Script by Damond Benningfield

Millions of black holes inhabit our home galaxy, the Milky Way. Most of them probably roam the galaxy alone, so we never see them. Luckily for science, though, many of them have companion stars. That makes it possible for astronomers to “see” and learn about the black holes. An example is a system called Swift J1357. It was discovered in 2011 by Swift, a space telescope that studies the X-ray sky. The system is thousands of light-years away, and appears to be outside the galaxy's disk of stars. J1357 consists of two objects: a black hole and a small, faint companion star. The black hole's gravity pulls in hot gas from the companion. The gas spirals around the black hole, heating up and forming a faint disk. The black hole appears to be at least nine times the mass of the Sun. It and the companion orbit each other once every two and a half hours — one of the tighter orbits of any known black-hole binary system. J1357 produces outbursts of X-rays every few years. They may occur when too much gas piles up in the disk. It gets so hot that it causes an eruption of particles and energy — an outburst that reveals more about this intriguing system. Swift J1357 is much too faint to see with the eye alone, but we can spot its location. It's close to the left of Spica, the brightest star of Virgo. It's about a third of the way up the southeastern sky at nightfall. Script by Damond Benningfield

Few constellations have as many backstories as Virgo, the virgin. In ancient Greece and Rome, it was linked with several goddesses, each with her own story. In one story, she was Dike, the goddess of justice. She lived when the gods known as the Titans ruled the land. Everything was peaceful, it was always spring, and living was easy. But after Zeus and the Olympians defeated the Titans, life got much more complicated. The goddess had to work a lot harder to maintain peace. Eventually, things got so bad that she turned her back on humanity and settled among the stars. In another story, Virgo was Demeter, the goddess of agriculture and the harvest. The Sun entered that region of the sky in the fall, around the time of the harvest, strengthening the connection. Virgo's brightest star is Spica — a name that means “an ear of grain.” It's the only truly bright star around. It's about 250 light-years away, and consists of two stars in a tight orbit around each other. The more massive of the two is likely to end its life as a supernova — a titanic blast fit for the early gods of ancient Greece. Spica stands just a whisker away from the full Moon tonight. They're low in the southeast as twilight fades, separated by about half a degree — less than the width of a pencil held at arm's length. They arc low across the south during the night, and set around dawn. Tomorrow: an early recipe for a system of planets. Script by Damond Benningfield

The Moon passes by the star Spica the next couple of nights. The brightest star of Virgo is below the Moon as they climb into good view this evening, but closer above the Moon tomorrow night. One prominent lunar feature is the Sea of Crises. It's a dark round patch near the top of the lunar disk as the Moon climbs up the sky. It's the target site for a robotic lander scheduled for launch later this year. Known as Ghost 1, the lander will carry a suite of experiments. Some of them will study the “regolith” — the layer of dust and small rocks at the surface. One experiment could drill as much as six feet into that layer to measure heat coming from the Moon's interior. That'll reveal more about how the Moon is put together. Another experiment is a vacuum cleaner — Lunar PlanetVac. It will suck up a few ounces of material, and separate it by the sizes of the particles. Dust grains will go into one bin, slightly larger particles into another, and pebbles into yet another. Unlike the “scoops” on robotic arms that've been used on other missions, PlanetVac can be moved around the spacecraft, allowing it to suck up material from wherever scientists want. The experiment is designed mainly to test the technology. Such a system might be used on future missions that will analyze different-sized particles, or sort them for return to Earth — learning about the Moon and other worlds with a vacuum cleaner. Script by Damond Benningfield

Spica is one of the brighter stars in the night sky, so it's always easy to pick out. But it's especially easy to find tonight, because it huddles especially close to the Moon. They climb into good view after midnight, and remain in view the rest of the night. Spica looks like a single pinpoint. In reality, it's a system of two massive stars. They're so close to one another that their light blurs together. The stars orbit each other once every four days. They're just a few million miles apart. But their orbit is a bit lopsided, so the distance changes. And the two stars rotate at different rates. The larger star spins almost three times faster than its slightly smaller companion. If given enough time, the stars would come into better synchronization. Their orbit would become more circular. And they'd spin at such a rate that the same hemisphere of each star would always face the other. The key to that is “if given enough time.” The larger star is so massive that it's destined to explode as a supernova. And given its age — about 12 million years — the “boom” probably isn't too far away. Before the star explodes, it's likely to blow a lot of gas into space, decreasing its mass. That'll change the stars' orbit. And when it does explode, it'll lose most of its mass, changing the orbit even more. It's even possible that the two stars will go their separate ways — ending a close pairing of massive stars. Script by Damond Benningfield

Botticelli's Primavera comes poetically to life overhead this week when Moon meets Spica at cross-quarter time in the morning sky.

A couple of bright alignments greet early risers tomorrow. The Moon and the twins of Gemini are high in the western sky at dawn. And the planet Venus and the star Spica are in the southeast. The Moon and Gemini actually climb into good view by about 8:30 or 9 tonight. Pollux, the brighter of the stars that represent the heads of the twins, is quite close to the Moon. Castor, the other twin, is farther to the upper left of the Moon. As the night rolls on, the Moon will widen the gap with Pollux. But they'll still be quite close at first light. Venus and Spica rise into good view by about three hours before sunrise. Venus is the brilliant “morning star,” so you can't miss it. Despite the nickname, it's not really a star at all. Instead, it's our closest planetary neighbor, which is one reason it shines so brightly. Spica is a star — the brightest in the constellation Virgo. It stands to the right of Venus, by about the width of three fingers held at arm's length. It's one of the brightest stars in the night sky, so you won't have any trouble spotting it. By Saturday morning, the Moon will have moved into Cancer, one constellation over from the twins. Venus and Spica will still be close, but Venus will be starting to drop away. It'll stand a little lower than Spica. The bright planet will continue to move back toward the Sun as Spica climbs higher in the early morning sky. Tomorrow: Going for the GUSTO!  Script by Damond Benningfield Support McDonald Observatory

Welcome to the Celestial Insights Podcast, the show that brings the stars down to Earth! Each week, astrologer, coach, and intuitive Celeste Brooks of Astrology by Celeste will be your guide. Her website is astrologybyceleste.com.  

A pair of bright, heavy stars perches just above the Moon at dawn tomorrow. They're so close together, though, that they're almost impossible to see as anything more than a single pinpoint of light. Spica is the brightest star of Virgo. It's 250 light-years away. And both of its stars are much bigger and more massive than the Sun. The heavier of the two probably will end its life as a supernova — a titanic explosion that will blast the star to bits. The two stars are only a few million miles apart — so close that only a special kind of telescope can see them as individual stars. Astronomers identified the system as a binary by studying its spectrum. They separated the system's light into its individual wavelengths or colors. Each chemical element leaves its own “barcode” in the spectrum. But Spica shows two sets of codes. As the stars orbit each other, once every four days, the two sets shift back and forth a bit — showing that Spica consists of two stars, not one. Binary systems are most common among heavy stars like Spica's. About 60 percent of such stars have companions. That's compared to less than half of the stars like the Sun, and just a quarter of the least-massive stars. The tight separation creates some interesting effects. The stars bulge toward each other, so both are shaped like eggs. And the side of each star that faces the other star shines brighter — boosted by the glow of its companion.  Script by Damond Benningfield Support McDonald Observatory

Earth Sky Woman October 2024 Astrology OracleOctober Astrology TimelineAll Times MountainSeptember 30 Mars Disappears into Underworld until Mid January 2024October 2 Mercury opposite NeptuneOctober 4 South Node conjunct Mars in Libra with Spica the Priestess StarOctober 8 Venus moves into Virgo with Royal Star Regulus, Heart of the LionOctober 8 Mars Square PlutoOctober 9 Indigenous People's DayOctober 10Pluto Direct (felt a week on either side)Sun opposite ChironMoon Venus Brow Chakra GateOctober 11/12 Mars moves into ScorpioOctober 14 Solar Eclipse in Libra near SpicaAll Across Turtle IslandBegins (Partial) 9:13 am ends 12:09 pm2 Hours 56 minutes totalAnnularity 10:34:35 to 10:39:23Maximum 10:36:59Mercury Opposite ChironOctober 20 Mercury Square PlutoOctober 21 Venus at Greatest ElongationSun square PlutoVenus Trine JupiterMercury moves into ScorpioOctober 23 Sun moves into ScorpioOctober 23 Sun Trine SaturnOctober 28 Partial Lunar Eclipse visible in Europe, Asia, Australia, Africa, North America, Much of South America, Pacific, Atlantic, Indian Ocean, Arctic, Antarctica.12:01 to 4:26 pm PenumbralMaximum Eclipse 2:14 pmOctober 29 Mercury opposite MarsOctober 31 Venus Trine UranusSamhain (traditional date of celebration)

Happy Harvest Full Moon in Aries All!  4:58 am Central Friday, September 29 (tomorrow)Some of the features of this Harvest Aries Full Moon include: The Sabian Symbol for 7 Aries Full Moon is “A Man Succesfully Expressing Himself in Two Realms at Once” adding to the the already very multidimensional dynamic of Venus Square Uranus.  Venus near her highest and brightest Morning Star Phase in Leo conjunct Juno in the “Mouth of the Lion,”  and Mars near Spica, the brightest Star in the Virgin Constellation and the South Node in Libra as he enters the Beams of the Sun.He has his own Underworld initiatory journey soon to square Pluto and ingress Scorpio--deep into the Yin or Feminine mysteries even as Venus and the Aries Full Moon carry much greater Yang or masculine dynamics. Be on the lookout for twists and turns, miraculous and happy surprises, sudden changes of direction--and be ready to initiate, take action, follow the call of your greater destiny even if it means disruption of the status quo for the short term!Much more in this podcast enjoy!

One of the most famous of all skywatching directions is this: Arc to Arcturus, then spike to Spica. In other words, follow the arc formed by the handle of the Big Dipper until you come to the bright yellow-orange star Arcturus, which is high in the west at sunset now. From there, follow a straight line to Spica, the leading light of Virgo. Tonight, there's another way to find Spica: Look for the crescent Moon, low in the west-southwest at nightfall. Spica is close to the left of the Moon. The best measurements put Spica at a distance of 250 light-years. That means the light we see from Spica tonight began its high-speed trip across the galaxy in 1773 — three years before the United States declared independence. That would make Spica a good “semi-quincentennial” star — marking America's 250th birthday, in 2026. Spica actually consists of two stars. They're quite close together — so close that you need a special type of telescope to see them as individual stars. One of the stars is moving into its “giant” phase — puffing up to many times its previous size. Millions of years from now, it should blast itself to bits as a supernova. The other star isn't quite as massive as its companion, so it's still in the prime of life. It should end its life in a more gentle process. But no one is sure how the evolution and explosion of the heavier star will affect the companion, so its future is a bit cloudy.  Script by Damond Benningfield Support McDonald Observatory

The Big Dipper is in the northwest this evening, with its bowl below the handle. Starting with the handle, use one of skywatching's most famous directions to find one of the sky's brightest stars: Arc to Arcturus. In other words, follow the curve of the handle away from the dipper until you come to yellow-orange Arcturus, well up in the west. The dipper's stars belong to Ursa Major, the great bear. And “Arcturus” means “the bear watcher” or “guardian of the bear” — the star is always keeping an eye on the bear. Arcturus has been a popular name right here on Earth. Some historians have suggested that the name “Arthur” came from Arcturus, which means the legendary King Arthur was named for the star. Several ships of the United States Navy have carried the name, along with several military and civilian aircraft. And earlier this year, the name was bestowed on a variant of Covid-19 whose symptoms include pink eye. Officially, the strain was XBB.1.16. But some scientists have applied nicknames to new variants to make them easier for the public to follow. At first, the names came from mythology. But after a kerfuffle over the name Kraken, the scientists switched to names from astronomy — many of which have their own mythological origins. That includes Arcturus — keeping an eye on the bear in the stars, and causing eye problems here on Earth. After arcing to Arcturus, it's time to spike to Spica, which we'll do tomorrow.  Script by Damond Benningfield Support McDonald Observatory

  You may have some amazing fly fishing right in your neighborhood even if you live in a big city.  Urban fly fishing may not be pristine, but it has its own charms and moments of excitement, and you don't need to drive for hours to get to it.  James Spica [46:05], fishing manager of Orvis Royal Oak, gives us good tips on finding this kind of fishing in your area, what species you might encounter, and some tips for making the most of your experience.   In the Fly Box this week, we have some great questions as usual, including: Are there any fly-tying materials made from plant fibers? Are trout equally susceptible to stress in low water temperatures as they are in high water temperatures? What is the best way to dye bucktails? What feathers should I keep for tying from ducks I harvest? What is the difference between the Blackout 8-weight rod and the Helios 3 8-weight rods? What's a good rod for small stream brook trout fishing? Do you need to open your casting loops with leaders over 13 feet long? In a Pile Cast, will the line and leader butt hit the water before the tippet and fly? Is it OK to put my rod and reel in the water when landing a fish? What can we do about the flood damage in Vermont?  What will the fishing be like in the near future? What is the most effective way to interact with the people in a fly shop when looking for information? Why can't I get white Woolly Buggers to work in my river?  I hear people have good luck with them. What's a good rod for smallmouth and smaller stream steelhead fishing? Does underlining a rod help for longer casts? What is a short heavy rod, like the old 7'11" Recon rod for 8-weight, used for?

00:00:00 Intro 00:19:52 Munchkin predicts: DIG will beat GG, TL will beat EG, DIG will beat TL 00:35:45 Bluejay's take: Bugi, Insanity and Chime should be treated as valuable free agents 00:45:30 Alienware break! 00:49:26 MagiMick's take: 100T hasn't been able to put together a winning roster yet 01:01:28 Cool asks Spica about how culture and management affect teams 01:11:11 gyro's take: teams like NRG have always been greater than the sum of their parts 01:25:00 Cptn Turtleman's take: C9 is going to continue dominating; 3-0 vs NRG 01:37:00 tomjack asks Spica who he'd buff/nerf 01:48:48 Outro

Some well-known binary star systems are in good view as night falls. Antares, the heart of the scorpion, is due south. Blue-white Spica is at about the same height in the southwest. And Polaris, the pole star, stands due north, just as it does every night of the year. Many of the other stars visible to the naked eye are binaries as well — two stars that orbit each other, bound by their mutual gravitational pull. In fact, binaries are quite common. But astronomers aren't sure just how common. One study put the fraction of stars that are in binaries at about half. But others have come up with higher numbers. Binaries probably are born in the same way as single stars — from the collapse of giant clouds of gas and dust. As the cloud gets especially tight, though, it splits apart. That creates two newborn stars — and sometimes three, four, or even more. Most of the biggest and heaviest stars have binary companions. Binaries are less common among stars that are roughly the mass of the Sun. And they're least common among the smallest and faintest of stars, known as red dwarfs. Because they're so puny, they're hard to study, so we're not sure just how likely they are to be members of binaries. But red dwarfs account for most of the stars in the Milky Way Galaxy. So zeroing in on that likelihood will give us a better idea of just how many stars have companions — and how many travel through the galaxy alone.  Script by Damond Benningfield Support McDonald Observatory

Hello & Welcome back for another episode of The Dive. Apologies for missing last week's episode, we encountered some pretty major issues post recording that made it impossible for us to release. We hope this special episode with FlyQuest Spica makes up for it. Spica gets honest about FLY's issues, the work ethic of some of the pros & he even weighs in on which team he thinks is fraudulent when it comes to their place in the standings!Spica also rates the junglers in the league. Which junglers are underrated? Are any overrated? Huge shoutout to Spica for joining. LCS returns Wednesday at 2PM Pacific/5PM Eastern with TSM posting up against Dignitas. See you there!  You can always learn more and view the full match schedule at https://lolesports.com/schedule?leagues=lcs Follow us: http://www.twitter.com/lcsofficial http://www.instagram.com/lcsofficial https://www.tiktok.com/@lcsofficial --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/the-dive-esports-podcast/message

A planet known as Theia may be the most important world you've never heard of. No one has ever seen it — and no one ever will. Yet we see its possible handiwork almost every day: the Moon. Current thinking says Theia slammed into Earth when our planet was still an infant. The impact blasted out material that soon came together to form the Moon. Most scientists agree on that basic outline. But they've been debating the details for decades: the size of Theia, the fate of Theia itself, the timing of the Moon's formation, and much more. The original scenario said Theia probably was about the size of Mars — roughly half the diameter of Earth. A recent study, though, has suggested it could have been almost as big as Earth itself. Models of what happened to Theia have been all over the place. Some recent ones suggest that its core joined with Earth's, making Earth's final core unusually big. In addition, parts of the mantle could have sunk into Earth's mantle, forming big blobs of dense rock. The Moon probably took shape fairly quickly — in as little as a few years. And one recent model said it could have happened in a matter of hours. No matter how long it took, you can see the result tonight: the Moon. It has a bright companion: Spica, the brightest star of Virgo. It's quite close to the lower right of the Moon — the possible creation of the most important planet you've never heard of.  Script by Damond Benningfield Support McDonald Observatory

Welcome to Observing With Webb, where a high school astronomy teacher tells you what you're looking at, why it's so cool, and what you should check out later this month…at night.  Venus shines bright at sunset all month, with Mars nearby, while Saturn, Jupiter, and even Mercury shine in the mornings, and the Beehive Cluster gets two wandering guests, all in the solstice month of June. 21st – Summer Solstice – This is the longest day of the year in the Northern Hemisphere.     Spring Constellations: Big Dipper, Boötes, Virgo, Corona Borealis, Hercules – Gaze almost vertically as you face the NW, and you'll easily find the Big Dipper: seven very bright stars that form a saucepan shape. Now if you take the handle of the Dipper, follow its curve to the next bright star you see, about 20˚ away, which is Arcturus. “Follow the arc to Arcturus.” That's the brightest star in Boötes, which looks like a kite.    Take that same curve, and follow it about another 20˚ to “South to Spica”, the brightest star in Virgo, one of my favorite constellations, since it reminds me of the Dickinson Mermaid.  Now go back to Boötes, and just to the left of Boötes are seven stars that form the northern crown Corona Borealis, which looks more like a small bowl or a “C” in the sky.    Continue a little further to the left and you'll find the keystone asterism which is part of the constellation Hercules. Extra Challenge! Look for M13, the Hercules Cluster in between two of Hercules' “keystone” stars.  It known as the best globular cluster in the northern skies.  It will be a fuzzy spot in binoculars and will be even cooler through a telescope.   We've added a new way to donate to 365 Days of Astronomy to support editing, hosting, and production costs.  Just visit: https://www.patreon.com/365DaysOfAstronomy and donate as much as you can! Share the podcast with your friends and send the Patreon link to them too!  Every bit helps! Thank you! ------------------------------------ Do go visit http://www.redbubble.com/people/CosmoQuestX/shop for cool Astronomy Cast and CosmoQuest t-shirts, coffee mugs and other awesomeness! http://cosmoquest.org/Donate This show is made possible through your donations.  Thank you! (Haven't donated? It's not too late! Just click!) ------------------------------------ The 365 Days of Astronomy Podcast is produced by the Planetary Science Institute. http://www.psi.edu Visit us on the web at 365DaysOfAstronomy.org or email us at info@365DaysOfAstronomy.org.

The Sombrero Galaxy has taught us a lot. It provided important details about the birth, scale, and evolution of the universe. And it's a good laboratory for studying the birth of stars and the feeding habits of giant black holes. The Sombrero is about 30 million light-years away. It forms a disk that we see almost edge-on. It has a bright “bulge” of stars in the middle, and a lane of dark dust around its rim. That makes it look like a sombrero. In 1912, V.M. Slipher discovered that the galaxy is moving away from us at about 25 million miles per hour. At the time, astronomers were debating whether the entire universe was contained inside the Milky Way. Slipher's discovery indicated that the Sombrero was a separate galaxy, far beyond the Milky Way. It also suggested that the universe was expanding. The galaxy has a central black hole that's roughly 250 times the mass of the Milky Way's black hole. It appears to be “feeding” on massive amounts of gas, perhaps funneled in from outside the galaxy. Stars are being born in the galaxy's ring of dust. Studying that process can tell astronomers more about how stars are born — all from the “brim” of a galactic sombrero. The Sombrero is in Virgo. The Moon is passing through the constellation tonight, with Virgo's leading light, Spica, close to its upper right. The Sombrero is about the same distance to the lower right of Spica, and is an easy target for telescopes.  Script by Damond Benningfield Support McDonald Observatory

The Moon stands near the middle of the largest member of the zodiac tonight, the constellation Virgo. Spica, the maiden's brightest star, is close to the Moon as darkness falls, and the Moon will slide a little closer to it during the night. Spica represents an ear of wheat held in the maiden's hand. Virgo is the second largest of all the modern constellations. Only Hydra, the water snake, outranks it. But it's not the size of the constellation that's made it one of the most important. Instead, it's the fact that the Sun passes through its borders at the time of the September equinox — the beginning of autumn in the northern hemisphere. Because of Virgo's great size, the Sun spends a long time inside its borders — more than seven weeks — from mid-September until the end of October. That's longer than it stays inside any other constellation. But the Sun hasn't always been passing through Virgo at the equinox. Until about the year 730 B.C., it was in the adjoining constellation Libra. The change is due to precession — a slow “wobble” of Earth's axis. It takes about 26,000 years to complete one wobble. During that time, the Sun glides through the background of stars. That means the point of the equinox changes as well. It'll shift over into Leo in about 400 years. And it'll return to Virgo about 23,000 years after that — returning to the largest constellation of the zodiac.  Script by Damond Benningfield Support McDonald Observatory

Hey Dive fans & welcome for a different kind of episode for The Dive. Azael is recovering after a procedure & Kobe is out sick so the LCS Lounge - Raz, Emily, Jatt & of course Mark - crashed The Dive this week to chat All-Pro & playoff matches. Also they're in a swanky lounge to compliment the name. We hear both sides of the Spica vs. Blaber debate, why mid lane was the hardest All Pro vote & why the lower bracket this playoffs is the most terrifying yet. Thank you to all who participated in the #TheDiveLoLGiveaway. A Winner will be announced in the coming weeks! Until then, we'll catch you Thursday for the start of playoffs as FlyQuest faces off against 100 Thieves at 2PM Pacific//5PM Eastern. See you then!  --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/the-dive-esports-podcast/message