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Total Eclipse Coming Feb. 20

Posted Feb 7, 08 6:02 PM CST in Science & Health 

(Newser) – Nearly half the world's population will find themselves really in the dark Feb. 20 as Earth's shadow totally eclipses the moon, LiveScience reports. Visible to 3 billion residents of North and South America, Europe, Africa, and parts of Asia, the eclipsed moon will create a celestial triangle in the night sky, joining the planet Saturn and the bright star Regulus.

The third such occurrence in a year, the lunar eclipse will begin at 10:01 pm ET. Weather permitting, North American backyard astronomers will be able to observe the entire 51-minute phase, but shouldn't expect utter darkness. The Earth's shadow is never total, and the rays of the sun that slip through our atmosphere will give the satellite a rusty, red-and-orange tint.

Source LiveScience

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The night sky. (AP Photo/European Southern Observatory via PA)   (Associated Press)
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