A near total eclipse of the moon will be visible locally early Friday morning if weather cooperates. According to NASA Solar System Ambassador to Utah Patrick Wiggins, Utahns will be treated to a near total eclipse of the Moon on November 19th. Wiggins notes that observers will first notice a darkening on the edge of the Moon a few minutes after midnight Thursday night when the Moon enters the dark part of Earth’s shadow. The dark part is known as the umbral shadow. By 2:02am on Friday morning, the Moon will be deep within the umbral shadow with about 97% of its surface covered. Despite not being completely covered, Wiggins says if we are lucky we may still see the darkened portion of the Moon take on some of the colors associated with total eclipses. After that it will slowly exit the umbral shadow, finally leaving it behind at 3:47am. No special equipment is needed to view a total eclipse of the Moon. Other than a willingness to stay up late, all that is required is clear skies!
