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DENVER (KDVR) — A partial lunar eclipse will be visible in Denver early in the morning of Friday, Nov. 19. This will be very close to a total eclipse with 97% of the moon in the Earth’s shadow.

The partial lunar eclipse will be the longest in duration in more than 500 years, lasting 3 hours and 28 minutes.

A lunar eclipse is when Earth moves between the sun and a full moon. In order for this to happen, all three have to fall perfectly in line with each other. In a partial eclipse, the three are not perfectly aligned, but they are close to it meaning that only part of the moon will be in the shadow.

Because the Earth is between the sun and moon in a lunar eclipse, the moon appears a deep red color because Earth is casting a shadow on it. Friday’s partial lunar eclipse will have a small sliver of the moon that is not in the full shadow.

The partial eclipse will begin just after midnight Friday morning at 12:18 a.m. The maximum eclipse will happen at 2:02 a.m. on Friday with the partial eclipse ending at 3:47 a.m.

The forecast for Friday morning includes partly cloudy skies in Colorado so it is possible that this limits some of the view. The Pinpoint Weather Team will keep you updated on viewing conditions as it gets closer.