All you sky gazers out there, a celestial treat awaits and its isn’t too far away. You may want to take your binoculars and telescopes as three celestial events are coinciding on February 10. Apart from a prenumbral lunar eclipse, a snow moon and a passing new year comet will bask in celestial glory in Friday night.
Snow Moon
The full moon during the month of February has been given the name snow moon as the heaviest snowfall is observed during this month. Due to snowfall, hunting would become difficult in the ancient time. It was also termed as the hunger moon as finding food was a difficult task during this period.
As per the GMT time, the moon is expected to rise during the evening hours at 4:44 PM on February 10 and will set the next morning at 7:20 AM. The moon will once again rise at 05:56 PM on February 11.
Prenumbral Lunar Eclipse
The occurrence of a prenumbral lunar eclipse takes place when the Moon, the Sun and the Earth are aligned in a straight line. During this time, the sun’s light is blocked by the Earth from reaching the surface of the moon. Thus, a part of the moon is covered because of the Earth’s outer part’s shadow. This phenomenon is called the penumbra.
The celestial event is likely to begin at 10:34 PM GMT and be at its peak at 12:43 AM (Feb 11) and end at 02:53 AM. People from North America, Europe, Africa and most parts of Asia will be able to witness this event.
New Year Comet
Comet 45P/Honda-Mrkos-Pajdušáková also known as the New Year comet is named after the astronomers Minoru Honda, Antonín Mrkos, and Ľudmila Pajdušáková who discovered it in 1948. One can see the comet with the naked eye on February 11 when the comet it the closest to the Earth.
Image Credit: twitter.com
