The Sun is an impressive star. Its mass ranks in the top 10 percent of all the stars in the galaxy. But the bright star that snuggles up to the Moon the next couple of evenings puts the Sun to shame. It’s bigger and heavier, it has a close companion, and it’s shaped a bit like an egg. And it faces a more dramatic fate.

Spica is the brightest star of the constellation Virgo. It consists of two stars – the bright star we see, plus a close companion that we can’t see. We know the companion is there because it reveals its presence to special astronomical instruments. The stars are so close together that their gravitational pull on one another makes both of them look more like eggs than balls.

The main star is called Spica A. It’s more than 10 times the mass of the Sun. At that great heft, it gulps its nuclear fuel in a big hurry. That makes the star especially hot and bright – more than 20 thousand times brighter than the Sun.

Spica A also is about seven and a half times the Sun’s diameter, and more than 400 times its volume. And its fate is king-sized as well. Within a few million years, it will explode as a supernova – briefly shining as the brightest object in the entire galaxy.

Look for Spica to the left or upper left of the Moon this evening. The Moon will slide a bit closer to the star before they set, after midnight. Spica will stand closer to the Moon tomorrow night.

Script by Damond Benningfield