Witnessing an eclipse and a comet show in one night is indeed a true "once in a blue moon" experience. Sky watchers were blessed with such one night show when the "snow moon" eclipse and the green comet appeared in the atmosphere on February 10 until the next morning.
According to an article in Space, skywatchers were able to witness the snow moon for around four hours. As the snow moon appeared in the atmosphere, it slowly forms a shadow or also known as the penumbra which captivated the eyes of the spectators. Another marvel that the skywatchers were able to see is the green comet or the Comet 45P. As its name implies, Comet 45P glows with some streaks of beautifully lit green.
These two wonders might be new to non-space fans. In a write-up from CNN, it was explained that both the snow moon eclipse and the green comet are some of the rare sightings sky watchers can witness. To top that, both celestial events have a good history to date.
As beautiful as its name, the snow moon has a literal meaning attached to its name. Old Farmer's Almanac revealed that the said name surfaced based on the fact that most of the heaviest snows fall in February in which the snow moon also appears. Another amazing fact about this snow moon especially what occurred last Friday is that it also had a penumbral eclipse which is a to die for experience for space enthusiasts. On the other hand, Comet 45P has a very long name, Honda-Mrkos-Pajdušáková, but it's usually dubbed as Comet 45P or the green comet.
Although some said that both celestial events weren't worth the watch, astronomers begged to differ. Most penumbral eclipses aren't that visible but for the case of the snow moon eclipse, the shadows were more visible and clearer. At the same time, the green comet has been one of the comets which passed by the earth's surface in the nearest distance with 7.4 million miles.
