This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2012, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
While the sun has been center stage lately, the moon will provide a show in the early-morning hours of Monday.
At 4 a.m., the moon will enter a partial eclipse. By about 5 a.m., about 37 percent of the moon will be covered by the Earth's shadow, said Tony Phillips of Science@NASA.
A broad swath of lunar terrain near the southern crater Tycho will be under the shadow of Earth, creating the first lunar eclipse of 2012.
The full moon of June is called the Strawberry Moon because it occurs during the fruit's short harvesting season.
"Because only a fraction of the Strawberry Moon is shadowed, astronomers call this a partial eclipse. But it's totally beautiful," said Tony Phillips of Science@NASA.
Lunar eclipses occur when the Earth moves between the moon and the sun, casting its shadow on the moon.
The moon will be in the low southwestern horizon as the eclipse occurs just before moonset, and viewers will be able to see more of the eclipse for a longer period of time if they don't have buildings or mountains in their way.
The low-hanging moon likely will only add to the effect.
For reasons neither astronomers or psychologists understand, the moon appears much larger when it's low on the horizon, so viewers should get an extra-big view of the eclipse.
"Backyard astronomy doesn't get much better than this," Phillips said. "Wake up before dawn on June 4 and savor the sweet eclipse of the Strawberry Moon."
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