The full moon will appear a bit dimmer as it rises tonight (Friday, February 10). That’s because it’s due for a special kind of lunar eclipse.
Tonight’s event is called a penumbral lunar eclipse. That means the moon is passing through the fuzzy outer ring of Earth’s shadow. Unlike a partial or total lunar eclipse, the moon won’t have a bite taken out of it and it won’t darken to a deep red. Instead sky watchers will see a subtle shading.
For Arizonans, the eclipse will already be at its midpoint when the moon rises in the east around six p.m. The event will be over by eight p.m.
