Look For Rare Events in Tonight’s Sky

If you're like me, you are fascinated by the stars, planets and space. And in tonight's night sky, we should see a rare event. Here's what to look for.

According to an article by Michele W. Berger on weather.com:

"It’s that time again, time for another full moon. The one that falls directly after the Harvest Moon (which was Sept. 19) is called the Hunter’s Moon, and it happens this Friday night, Oct. 18. The best time to view it is 7:38 p.m. Eastern.

Plus, there’s a lunar eclipse happening, too. It’s subtle, however, not a total eclipse but what’s called a penumbral eclipse, when the Earth’s outer shadow partially covers the lunar being. "That event begins around 5:50 p.m. eastern, peaks around at 7:50 p.m. and ends around 9:50 p.m"., Jim O’Leary, senior scientist at the Maryland Science Center, told Weather.com.

According to Science@NASA. “Hunters … tracked and killed their prey by autumn moonlight, stockpiling food for the winter ahead,” writes NASA’s Tony Phillips.

The Hunter’s Moon isn’t just any full moon. Like with other moons this time of year, its path — called an ecliptic — is shallow. That means for several nights in a row, the moon sits farther north on the horizon, according to EarthSky."