Skywatchers Prepare For Lunar Eclipse Tonight

Skywatchers are in for a show tonight: the full moon will dip into the earth's shadow producing a lunar eclipse that will be visible to observers around the world.

The event is called a penumbral lunar eclipse and it will put the moon into shadows for about four hours, with the most intense effects visible around 7:50 pm EDT.

The lunar eclipse precedes another celestial show — a rare solar eclipse that will take place in two weeks when the moon passes directly between the sun and the Earth.

That event will begin in the skies above Jacksonville, Florida, where observers will be able to see a ring of sun surrounding the moon's silhouette just after sunrise.

That eclipse will be total — meaning the sun will be totally obscured — in Africa, and partial around the United States.