The Sky Today on Friday, September 12: Mars moves past Spica

The Red Planet passes due north of Virgo’s bright star Spica; the pair is visible for a short time after sunset in the evening sky.
By | Published: September 12, 2025

Mars stands to the upper right of the bright star Spica after sunset on the 12th, but you’ll need to be quick — and opt for an observing site with a clear western horizon — to catch them. Credit: Stellarium
Gemini Sparkle

Key Takeaways:

  • Mars and Spica will appear in close proximity (2° separation) in the evening western sky shortly after sunset, setting before 9 PM local daylight time.
  • Observations of Mars and Spica are best conducted using binoculars or a telescope's finder scope after sunset, with optimal viewing conditions achieved with a clear western horizon and higher elevation.
  • The waning gibbous Moon (70% illuminated) will pass 5° north of Uranus around 10 PM EDT, coinciding with their rising time for the U.S. East Coast.
  • Times for sunrise (6:38 AM), sunset (7:13 PM), moonrise (9:56 PM), and moonset (12:37 PM) are provided, based on a specific location (40° N 90° W).
Key takeaways sponsored by The Space Store

Mars passes 2° north of Virgo’s bright alpha star Spica at 4 A.M. EDT. Neither is visible at that time, but you can catch them in the evening sky shortly after sunset. You’ll want to be quick, though — they set before 9 P.M. local daylight time and are already low in the west 40 minutes after sunset. At that time, the pair is 5° high, with Mars sitting to the upper right of Spica. Mars is magnitude 1.6, slightly fainter than magnitude 1.0 Spica. They are still 2° apart, visible together in the same field of view when using binoculars or your telescope’s finder scope. If you do look for them with optical aid, make sure you wait to pull out your equipment until the Sun is fully below the horizon from your location, which may occur at a slightly different time than that given below. The clearer your western horizon, the better, and you may want to try to get to a location slightly higher than your surroundings as well.

The now-waning Moon passes 5° north of Uranus at 10 P.M. EDT, around the time the pair is rising for those on the U.S. East Coast. The Moon lies to the lower left of the Pleiades star cluster — a few hours earlier, our satellite occulted several stars in this cluster, visible from parts of Europa, Asia, and the Middle East.

Sunrise: 6:38 A.M.
Sunset: 7:13 P.M.
Moonrise: 9:56 P.M.
Moonset: 12:37 P.M.
Moon Phase: Waning gibbous (70%)
*Times for sunrise, sunset, moonrise, and moonset are given in local time from 40° N 90° W. The Moon’s illumination is given at 12 P.M. local time from the same location.

For a look ahead at more upcoming sky events, check out our full Sky This Week column. 

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