Lunar eclipse, Comet expected on Friday through Saturday

Don't be told when it happens, get your binoculars ready as several cities across the world will on Friday through Saturday witness a series of spectacular displays including a lunar eclipse on a snow moon and comet 45P, also known as the New Year comet.

Shortly after sun set on Friday, the moon will rise over the eastern horizon and pass through the outer shadow of Earth, into the Earth's outer shadow, called the penumbra, casting a light shadow, making the moon appear darker than normal, while Comet 45P will zoom past Earth early on Saturday and will be visible in the morning sky in the constellation Hercules, before passing through the constellations Corona Borealis (the Northern Crown), Boötes (the Herdsman), Canes Venatici (Boötes’ hunting dogs) and Ursa Major.

The event will be an extremely close encounter as it goes, passing within 12.4 million kilometres of Earth with a relative speed of 22.9 km per second, or a breakneck 82,270 km/h.

The eclipse is expected to last more than four hours with the action unfolding early on Saturday in Europe, Africa and western Asia where it will been seen as the moon is in the southern sky, while those in North, Central and South America, will see it from the east.

Comet is officially known as Comet 45P/Honda-Mrkos-Pajdusakova, named after the Japanese, Czech and Slovak astronomers who discovered it in 1948.