The star Spica stands especially close to the upper right of the Moon at nightfall. The brightest star of Virgo is actually a pair of giant stars locked in a tight orbit around one another. The heavier member of the pair is likely to explode as a supernova.
Weekly Stargazing Tips
Provided by StarDate.org. Unless otherwise specified, viewing times are local time regardless of time zone, and are good for the entire Lower 48 states (and, generally, for Alaska and Hawaii).
July 3: More Moon and Spica
July 4: Solar Highway
The "solar highway" curves low across the south on July evenings, outlining the path the Sun will follow during fall and winter. It is marked by some of the brightest objects in the night sky, including Mars and the stars Regulus and Spica.
July 5: Vanishing Lion
Leo, the celestial lion, is in the west as darkness falls. It is dropping toward the horizon head first, like a lion pouncing on its prey. Its brightest star, Regulus, is quite low in the sky. The slightly fainter planet Mars is well to the upper left of Regulus.
July 6: Moon and Scorpius
The Moon will step on the head of the scorpion tonight. It will pass directly in front of one of the stars that outlines the head, blocking it from view. The star, Pi Scorpii, is actually a system of three stars about 600 light-years away.
July 7: Moon and Antares
Antares, the star that represents the heart of the scorpion, stands to the upper right of the Moon at nightfall. It will lead the Moon down the southwestern sky later on. The supergiant star is expected to explode as a supernova sometime in the next million years or so.
July 8: Stellar Ripples
Scorpius is low in the south at nightfall, to the right of the Moon. It's marked by the scorpion's "heart," the star Antares, which is the most prominent member of a giant complex of young, bright, massive stars that spans many light-years.
July 9: Giant Cluster
The largest globular star cluster in the galaxy, Omega Centauri, stands low in the south-southwest at nightfall for skywatchers in the far-southern United States. It looks like a tiny smudge of light. Binoculars reveal a few of its millions of stars.