One of the most awaited space phenomena in 2017, a Lunar Eclipse, will happen tonight, February 10 at 5.30 p.m. EST. The exciting cosmic event will coincide with the Snow Moon and the New Year's Comet cruising nearest to Earth. While the eclipse will happen on February 10 EST, Comet 45 P will be passing by starting at 10:30 P.M. EST as it comes closest to Earth.
According to Space, the "Lunar Eclipse" that will be visible in the Americas, Europe, Africa and most of the Asian continent will be a penumbral eclipse. A lunar eclipse happens when the sun's light is being blocked by the shadow of the Earth. The lunar eclipse tonight is a penumbral eclipse, which means that the moon will be totally wrapped in the penumbral cone of the Earth but not hitting the umbra.
According to Live Science, the lunar eclipse will happen during the full moon of February. At the same time the Comet 45 P/Honda-MrKos-Pajdusakova (also known as New Year's Comet) will be a big sky show for avid skywatchers. The comet will be cruising at the speed of 51,000 MPH at 7.4 miles or approximately 12 million kilometers away from Earth.
The "Lunar Eclipse" will have its peak after midnight at 12:43 p.m. in the morning and will end by dawn at 2:53 a.m. on February 11. At the same time, the Snow Moon will start to rise at 4.44 p.m. in the afternoon of Friday until it sets at 7:30 a.m. in the morning of February 11, Saturday.