Spica, Mars, and Eclipsed Moon . ... Credit Copyright: Damian Peach Explanation: A beautiful, reddened Moon slid through dark skies on April 15, completely immersed in Earth's shadow for well over an hour. ... The dark Moon's red color contrasts nicely with bright bluish star Spica , alpha star of the constellation Virgo, posing only about two degrees away. Brighter than Spica and about 10 degrees from the Moon on the right, Mars is near opposition and closest approach to Earth. ...