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See a Lunar Eclipse, Snow Moon, and Comet—All This Weekend

The universe offers a celestial triple threat, just in time for the weekend.
lunar eclipse moon full moon
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Cancel your Friday night plans and head to the nearest telescope, because space is putting on a real show this weekend. In a year chock-full of eclipses, including the first total solar eclipse in the continental U.S. in 38 years, we're scheduled to see the subtlest lunar eclipse of them all on Friday, February 10. The penumbral lunar eclipse, where the Earth's shadow falls on the moon, looks to the naked eye like a dark shading on the moon's surface, according to EarthSky, and you'll really need a telescope to notice the difference. But, the slight lunar eclipse isn't even the most exciting part of the weekend's celestial event. Enter Comet 45P/Honda-Mrkos-Pajdušáková.

Unless you're an astrophotographer, the likelihood of capturing this comet's green path across the night sky is pretty low. But, thanks to free online telescopes like Slooh, you'll still have a chance to see the comet come closer to Earth than it has in over 30 years—7.4 million miles to be exact. The Slooh live stream, accompanied by live commentary from Slooh astronomers and experts, will start Friday night at 10:30 p.m. Eastern as the comet makes its approach, but EarthSky expects the comet to be at its closest to Earth (about 30 times the distance of the moon) around 3 p.m. Eastern on Saturday, February 11. You won't be able to see Comet 45P with the naked eye anywhere, but if you don't have a spare telescope or Wi-Fi access for Slooh, a pair of binoculars might do the trick.

One of the few reasons why the comet won't be as visible on Saturday is because Friday's penumbral eclipse is of a full moon, February's Snow Moon. Like most monthly full moon's colloquial names, including January's Wolf Moon or September's Corn Moon, the Snow Moon derives its name from Native American lore. And, as the northeast faces nearly a foot of snow thanks to Winter Storm Niko, we can say this one is pretty aptly named. Slooh is showing a live stream of the full moon too, which means you'll likely have a better chance to grab a glimpse of that penumbral eclipse. According to EarthSky, the eclipse will begin at 5:34 p.m. Eastern on Friday, with the strongest eclipse at 7:44 p.m. Eastern. Slooh's video stream begins just as the eclipse does, at 5:30 p.m EST. So what are you waiting for? Polish off that 'scope and get ready for an epic weekend.