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Snow Moon, a New Year comet sighting and a lunar eclipse

Lunar eclipse
Lunar eclipse
What are your plans this weekend? For all you space lovers, get ready for an incredibly stellar weekend! From the evening of February 10 through the morning of February 11, 2017 there will be a series of 3 events all in one night: a Snow Moon, a New Year comet sighting and a lunar eclipse! Here’s what you need to know about this incredible event!

1. Snow Moon

The Snow Moon is a term for February’s full moon. It was named this because February is generally the month that has the highest amount of snowfall during the year. This year, the snow moon will rise at 5:33 p.m EST on Friday and set at 7:22 a.m. on Saturday. It shouldn’t be too hard to spot it in the sky.

2. New Year’s Comet

New Year' comet
New Year’ comet
This comet got its name from the fact that it began moving across the sky at the tail end of 2016. The New Year comet is set to shoot across the sky on February 11. This comet is only visible every five and a quarter years, so the fact that it just so happens to coincide with the Snow Moon and an eclipse is quite special.

3. Lunar Eclipse

Lunar eclipse
Lunar eclipse
Lunar eclipses occur when the sun, Earth, and moon line up. When the Earth aligns in front of the sun, the moon is covered in a shadow, which makes it appear red. Anyone in Europe, Africa, and most of Asia and North America will be able to view this somewhat eerie yet stunning event. The shadow will be mostly visible from 7:43 p.m. EST until 9:53 p.m. on Friday, February 11.

This Friday night promises to be quite a spectacular event! Make sure you don’t miss it!

Source: http://www.ilovenature.world/i-love-nature-news/2017/2/8/get-your-telescopes-ready-full-moon-comet-and-lunar-eclipse-all-at-once-this-weekend

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