Sheena, Welcome. When you came out to the August 2007 eclipse party at SLAS, we noted that the next Utah eclipse would be in Febuary 9, 2009.  Cloud-outs are prevalent during this time of year.  Details on the February 9 eclipse are: ================== NASA Feb. 9 Eclipse Graphic http://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/OH/OHfigures/OH2009-Fig03.pdf NASA Feb. 9 Eclipse Narrative http://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/OH/OH2009.html#2009Feb09N Penumbral Lunar Eclipse of February 09 The first lunar eclipse of 2009 is one of four such events during the year. The first three eclipses are penumbral while the last (on Dec. 31) is partial. The Feb 09 event is the deepest penumbral eclipse of the year with a penumbral magnitude of 0.899. It will be easily visible to the naked eye as a dusky shading in the northern half of the Moon. The times of the major phases are listed below. Penumbral Eclipse Begins:  12:38:46 UT Greatest Eclipse:          14:38:15 UT Penumbral Eclipse Ends:    16:37:40 UT Of course, the beginning and end of a penumbral eclipse are not visible to the eye. In fact, no shading can be detected until about 2/3 of the Moon's disk is immersed in the penumbra. This would put the period of eclipse visibility from approximately 14:00 to 15:20 UT. Keep in mind that this is only an estimate. Atmospheric conditions and the observer's visual acuity are important factors to consider. An interesting exercise is to note when penumbral shading is first and last seen. Figure 3 shows the path of the Moon through the penumbra as well as a map of Earth showing the regions of eclipse visibility. Eastern Canada and the USA will miss the eclipse entirely since the eclipse begins after moonset. Observers in western Canada and the USA will have the best views with moonset occurring sometime after mid-eclipse. To catch the entire event, one must be in Alaska, Hawaii, Australia, or East Asia. ================== This will be an early morning event with partial lunar eclipse beginning at 5:38 MST with the Moon at altitude of 19 degrees, due west.  The Moon will set at about 7:20 MST, before the point of greatest eclipse at 7:38 MST.   Based on the NASA eclipse note above, an early morning peek at around 6:00 to 6:30am feels like the best observing strategy.  Saturn will also be visible about 30 degrees from the Moon. The Moon will be near the bright star alpha Leo.  Astronomical Twilight Begins at 5:56 MST; civil sunrise is at 7:29 MST. I saw a similar early morning partial eclipse a few years ago, but in that eclipse, there was a partial umbral graze. The coloring was quite subtle and beautiful. But again, in February, only 18% of the time is the sky clear and the overnight lows average 23 degrees.  So this is a good eclipse to be aware of, but because of the high-percent of cloudiness during February, it is not one I'll get excited about in advance. Clear Skies - Kurt