You’ll be seeing more than just stars this weekend when you look up at the night sky!
Three – yes, three – pretty major astronomical events will be occurring from the evening of February 10 into the early morning hours of February 11. Observers will be treated to a snow moon, the New Year comet, and a lunar eclipse – all in the same night!
The snow moon is most simply described as “February’s full moon.” The name was created because February is usually the month that sees the highest amount of snowfall in a year. The snow moon is said to rise at 4:44 pm Friday and set at 7:30 am Saturday.
After viewing that, expect to see the New Year comet, which was apparently named that because it started moving across the sky at the end of 2016. This comet is only visible every five and a quarter years, and is suppose to be seen sometime in the early morning of February 11. How crazy that is occurring at the same time as two other astronomical situations!
Last but not least, a lunar eclipse will be most visible between 12:43 am until 2:52 pm. Lunar eclipses aren’t the same as solar eclipses. A lunar eclipse happens when the sun, Earth, and the moon line up. When the Earth and sun align, the moon is covered by a shadow, which makes it appear red.
Is it just me, or does this sound like a cute date idea – especially right before Valentine’s Day?! Either way, this definitely seems exciting to watch!