Overview

• The waxing crescent is about 8% illuminated this evening and sets shortly after the Sun, leaving under an hour to view.
• Look low in Virgo with the Moon to Mars’s lower right, roughly 7 degrees apart, with Spica nearby and Arcturus higher up as twilight deepens.
• Faint earthshine may reveal the Moon’s full disk, a sight best appreciated through binoculars.
• Successful viewing typically starts 20–30 minutes after sunset from an open west-facing vantage point.
• The pairing begins a short run of alignments as the Moon moves between Mars and Spica on Aug. 26 and sits near both on Aug. 27, while Mars continues to fade toward late November solar glare before its next opposition on Feb. 19, 2027.