Tiangong-1 now appears brighter in our skies as the Chinese space station descends toward Earth. It's due to reenter Earth's atmosphere this weekend. Astronomers are catching it! Their videos here.
Virgo the Maiden is a large, faint, rambling constellation with a single bright star, Spica. You'll see this star near the moon the next few evenings. By the way, Saturday night's moon is the second Blue Moon of 2018.
The star is a rare yellow supergiant. It's speeding across its little galaxy fast enough to travel from Los Angeles to New York in about half a minute.
Our friends at Project Nightflight shot this image on a cold and windy night around full moon at a favorite observing site in Austria. They wrote, "The next few weeks are the last chance to observe Sirius, Orion and the Hyades in the evening sky. Then we say goodbye to our old friends of the winter skies."
