Extremely Rare Lunar Eclipse, Comet, Full Moon Combo Tonight

The first full moon of February is called the Snow Moon by the Farmer’s Almanac due to the fact that it’s typically quite snowy in the northern regions during this time.

If skies are clear in your area Friday night, look up and enjoy an wonderful cosmic trifecta – a full moon, lunar eclipse and a comet streaking by earth.

A penumbral lunar eclipse is when the moon will pass through the edge of the Earth’s shadow, which is called the penumbra. The penumbral lunar eclipse will thus make the full moon’s bright, glowing façade to look somewhat dark. Since it has always been hard to spot a penumbral eclipse, people can still detect Earth’s shadows when the moon passes by. The closest comet to earth in the past 30 years will also make an appearance early on February 11, though Comet 45P likely won’t be close enough for most telephoto lenses. Comet 45P has been visible for the month of February, and will be at its closest point to earth overnight. He explains what 3 sky events are happening tonight, and what might be visible and where.

Given its name, penumbra means partial, so this will be a partial eclipse of the moon.

The event, which is expected to reach his peak at 7:44 p.m., will last about four hours, according to Space.com. Skygazers who use binoculars or small telescopes should be able to catch the comet’s fly-by.

“It will be on the verge of naked eye visibility, so if you want to see it, you better have binoculars or a telescope”, he said. The best time will be around 2 a.m. Saturday morning. From here, the normal brightness of the moon will begin to return until it leaves the penumbral shadow at approximately 9:55 p.m. ET. This comet is only visible every five years.