DID you know that a full “Snow Moon” will become visible tonight?

The name given to February’s full moon may sound unfamiliar, but it is in fact ages old with a long history behind it – and it’s not the only full moon with an interesting name but it has a lot special things attached to it.

In an unusual coincidence, both a penumbral lunar eclipse and a green comet will be visible to the observers on this February’s full moon day.

The February full moon is traditionally called as Snow Moon as it takes place during the heaviest snowfall in February. The Snow Moon will rise at 16:44 GMT on the evening of February 10 and set at 07:30 the following morning. The eclipse will rise again at 17:56 GMT on February 11.

What is a penumbral lunar eclipse?

The penumbral lunar eclipse occurs when the Earth, Sun, and Moon align in an almost straight line. Whenever this rare phenomenon happens, the Earth blocks some of Sun’s light from directly reaching the Moon’s surface, and covers a part of the Moon with the outer part of its shadow, which is also known as the Penumbra.

During the February Full Moon 2017 on Saturday, February 11, the First Lunar Eclipse of 2017 will occur. It will be seen across Europe, West Asia, Africa and the Americas but not in India.

Known as the Snow Moon or the Hunger Moon, the February Full Moon 2017 will be a rare phenomenon. On Friday, February 10 itself, the Snow Moon or the Penumbral Eclipse will be visible in the afternoon in the United States.

As per EarthSky reports, when the Moon moves through the outer part of the Earth’s shadow, which is known as the Penumbra, the Penumbral Eclipse occurs. The Penumbra blocks a part of the Sun’s rays from reaching the Moon, thus a dark shadow on the Moon is seen.

Watch The Video About Lunar Eclipses:

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration or the NASA has revealed the exact time of the Penumbral Eclipse as 7:43 pm ET (that is the 6:43 pm CT, the 5:43 pm MT and the 4:43 pm PT).

Comet 45P

But guess what, with the February Full Moon and the First Lunar Eclipse of 2017, the Comet 45P or the 45P/Honda–Mrkos–Pajdušáková will also be visible on February 11, according to NASA.

But not to the naked eye, as it will be a few million miles away – 7.4 million miles away, to be precise! So, if you are a comet freak, bring out our binoculars and telescopes to try and catch the Comet 45P! (Photos: Azernews, Spcae.com and Phys.org.)

The first Lunar Eclipse of the year 2017 will be visible in few hours and no matter wherever you are you can still watch the eclipse at All India Roundup. Lunar Eclipse which is also known as Chand Grahan in India can be seen here through our Live Streaming link provided below.

https://youtu.be/g-6JYzm5ztE