ILLUSTRATION BY STUART FUNK

Grab your snacks for one of the year’s best midnight shows. On the evening of Nov. 18, the moon will begin to pass through the Earth’s shadow. It will venture into the less noticeable, outer portion of the shadow, known as the penumbra, around 10:02 p.m. The main event begins at about 11:18 p.m. when the moon moves into the umbra, the area where the sun is completely obscured. While the moon will not completely enter the umbra this time,  97 percent of it will around 1:04 a.m. — the point of greatest eclipse.

Each month, Rancho Mirage Library and Observatory astronomer Eric McLaughlin spotlights a notable celestial event. For information about the observatory, visit ranchomiragelibrary.org.

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