• As seen from North America this evening, the moon shines to the east (left) of the star Spica, the ringed planet Saturn and the red planet Mars. But as seen from Europe, Africa and Asia, the moon shines considerably closer to Spica than it does in North America. All the same, the moon shines in the vicinity of Spica, Saturn and Mars as darkness falls from around the world. If you have a telescope, check out Saturn's gorgeous rings.
• The moon, Saturn and Mars all shine in front of the constellation Virgo on Wednesday, July 25, 2012. Image credit:

Wikimedia Commons
• The moon travels much more quickly in front of the constellations of the Zodiac than the planets do. Saturn, the most distant planet that's easily visible to the unaided eye, moves the most slowly of the seven visible wanderers: sun, moon, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn. The word planet originally meant wanderer, so in this sense, the sun and moon were also classified as planets in ancient times.
• The moon takes less than four weeks to go full circle in front of the background stars, whereas Saturn takes close to 30 years and Mars around two years. Watch closely for the next few nights. You'll see the moon moving away or eastward of Spica, Saturn and Mars, as it moves out of the constellation Virgo and into the constellation Libra in the next day or two. Saturn won't pass into Libra until December 2012, but the faster-moving Mars will enter Libra in early September 2012. Watch for Mars to pass in between Spica and Saturn in mid-August 2012, to stage a close-knit threesome that'll readily fit within a single binocular field of view!

(Continued on page 6)