Lunar Eclipse, Snow Moon & Comet Fri 10th Feb

3 Astronomical Events for the Price of 1... Fri Night 10th Feb 2017

February's Full Moon, the Snow Moon, on February 10th-11th will grow a little darker from 22:34:14 UTC until 02:53:25 UTC when Earth casts a shadow, the penumbra, on the Moon.

The Snow moon is the name that has been given to February's full moon as in the US this is traditionally the snowiest time of year.
This year's Snow moon will coincide with a penumbral lunar eclipse, so that it is almost completely submerged in shade as the Earth comes between the sun and the moon.
A penumbral eclipse is when the moon crosses a peripheral region of the Earth's shadow.
Usually a faint shadow will form on the moon's surface, and the moon will appear less bright.

The best time to view the event will be mid-eclipse at 12.45am, though the eclipse will begin at 10.34pm on Friday and end at 2.53am on Saturday morning.

The New Year comet has been visible around the world since December, but on Friday it will make its closest approach to Earth, reaching 7.4 million miles from Earth.

This will be its closest approach to Earth since 2011, and we won't see it again until 2022.

Look out for the comet from midnight on Friday – though you will probably need binoculars or a telescope to view it.