A penumbral lunar eclipse will move across the sky on July 4 as the moon grazes through the Earth’s shadow.
Saturday’s eclipse is already being hailed as one of the top astronomical events of the month for everyone worldwide.
A penumbral lunar eclipse is when the moon passes only through Earth’s outer shadow, called the penumbra, and misses the darker inner shadow, called the umbra.
For those still up after watching the fireworks show light the sky for Independence Day, it will be worth staying up a little longer as the time to view the eclipse will be from 11:07 p.m. July, through till just before 2 a.m. on July 5.
Budding astronomers here in Texas are said by experts to have a fair to good view of the event as it passes over.
“This third kind of lunar eclipse is much more subtle and much more difficult to observe than either a total or partial eclipse of the moon,” EarthSky explained on its website. “At best, at mid-eclipse, very observant people will notice a dark shading on the moon’s face.”
This particular eclipse is vastly different from a total lunar eclipse when the moon goes completely dark and can even take on a deep red or rusty orange color.
Best of all, if you are planning to stretch your night out, people of all ages can see the event — and no telescope is required.
PHOTO: The first penumbral eclipse of moon of 2017 is seen in Lahore, Pakistan, Saturday, Feb. 11, 2017. (AP Photo/K.M. Chaudhry)