A partial lunar eclipse is set to put on a show across Florida's night sky late Thursday into Friday morning, with nearly the entire Moon disappearing under Earth's shadow.
NASA says up to 96% of the Moon will appear to be covered by the shadow, with the peak event occurring at 12:12 a.m. on Friday.
During the early stages of the spectacle, Earth's shadow will begin moving over the Moon's southwestern edge around 9:23 p.m. on Thursday, but the eclipse will really take hold starting around 10:23 p.m.
As the eclipse progresses, the Moon will also take on a reddish hue, courtesy of sunlight being refracted through Earth's atmosphere and toward the lunar surface.
The biggest hindrance for skywatchers likely will be any type of cloud cover, and forecast models suggest there might be some around.
Much of the state's shower and thunderstorm activity is expected to occur during the daytime hours on Thursday, but some clouds will linger into the evening, causing partly cloudy to mostly cloudy conditions.
The cloud cover could temporarily obscure portions of the eclipse, but there should still be plenty of opportunities to see the Moon during the nearly six-hour event.
The lunar eclipse comes about two weeks after a solar eclipse was visible from parts of North America, Europe and northern Asia.
Unlike a solar eclipse, the upcoming event can be viewed safely without special eye protection.
The Moon does not produce its own light and reflects sunlight back toward Earth, but the light is not intense enough to cause eye damage.
Binoculars or a telescope will still provide the best viewing of the lunar eclipse but are not considered to be necessary.
Astronomers say the close timing of the recent eclipses is not a coincidence, as solar and lunar eclipses often occur in pairs or groups of three.
A solar eclipse occurs during a new moon cycle, when the Moon passes between the Earth and the Sun, while a lunar eclipse only occurs during the full moon phase, when Earth moves between the Sun and the Moon.
Because the orbits of the Moon and the Earth are slanted, eclipses are not monthly events but are not rare either, with around half a dozen reported every year.
For anyone who misses Friday morning's event, another lunar eclipse will be visible from Florida in February 2027.
However, next year's eclipse will look a bit different because it is known as a "penumbral lunar eclipse."
During a penumbral lunar eclipse, the Moon passes only through Earth's faint outer shadow, resulting in less dimming of Earth's only natural satellite.
