Three rare space phenomena will take place this Friday night. A penumbral lunar eclipse will happen during a full ‘snow’ moon, and to top it off, a comet will fly 7.4 million miles from earth.
The penumbral lunar eclipse, not to be confused with the more prominent total lunar eclipse, occurs when the moon moves through the outer part of the Earth’s shadow, which diminishes the light from the sun reaching the moon, making the moon appear dark. The eclipse will take place at 7:43 p.m. eastern time and can be seen in most of the United States, Asia, and the Western countries of South America.
The ‘snow’ moon gets its name from Native American tribes who named each full moon. Data from the National Weather Service shows that February on average has the most snowfall out of the 12 months a year, which authenticates the ‘snow’ moon.
Comet 45 has been visible from earth with the use of a telescope or binoculars for the past two months. It will reach its closest point to the earth late Friday and early Saturday morning, where it may be visible to the naked eye with dark skies.
The night of February 10 is a good time to be away from the lights of the big city and atop an open mountain bald.
