JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – This weekend you may be enjoying fireworks in celebration of Independence Day, but don’t miss the show from Mother Nature. Just after midnight on Saturday, the moon will be at its most full for this cycle.
According to NASA, this full moon (the Buck Moon, Thunder Moon, Hay Moon, Mead Mood, Rose Moon, Guru Moon, etc.) also comes with a partial penumbral lunar eclipse.
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Lunar eclipses are a snoozefest compared to solar eclipses, but they can be fun as long as your expectations aren’t too high.
NASA points out what to expect:
Although visible from the Americas, this slight dimming of part of the Moon should be difficult or impossible to notice without instrumentation. The Moon will appear full for about three days around the eclipse, from Friday evening into Monday morning, making this a full Moon weekend.
NASA
The moon will start to enter the partial shadow on Saturday night, July 4, 2020, at 11:07 p.m. At 12:30 Sunday, (the peak of the eclipse) about 35 percent of the moon will be in the partial shadow. The moon will finish exiting the partial shadow of the Earth at 1:52 a.m. The moon will be close enough to opposite the Sun that its northern edge will pass through the partial shadow of the Earth — called a partial penumbral eclipse.
It’s likely that watching the full moon rise would be more enjoyable, especially from the beach. In Jacksonville, the moon rise will be at 8:23p.m. on Saturday and at 9:18p.m. on Sunday.