Penumbral Lunar Eclipse to Occur Wednesday
TWIN FALLS, Idaho (KLIX) – Here’s something that might draw out the vampires and werewolves. On Wednesday, the sun, earth and moon will align imperfectly, causing what is called a penumbral lunar eclipse.
Different than a solar eclipse, which happens when one solar body blocks light to another solar body, a penumbral eclipse occurs when "the Earth blocks some of the Sun’s light from directly reaching the moon’s surface” and instead, according to TimeandDate.com, “covers a small part of the Moon with the outer part of its shadow, also known as the penumbra.”
What will you see, if you’re awake at the ungodly time of between approximately 3:30-5:30 a.m. when the event transpires over south-central Idaho? Apparently, not much more than you'd see on other nights when the moon has waxed full.
“A penumbral lunar eclipse takes place when the Moon moves through the faint, outer part of the Earth's shadow,” the website explains. "This type of eclipse is often mistaken for a normal full Moon”
Click the link above to read more about the phenomena, which happens more often than you might think. Also, look to the night sky on Tuesday for a view of the planet Jupiter.