The final eclipse of 2016 will occur this weekend, and it just so happens to coincide with the harvest moon – something we're not going to see again until 2024.

For the second year in a row, this month’s full moon will coincide with a lunar eclipse, with those in Europe, Asia, Africa, and Australia are set to get the best view. The event is expected to last for about 3 hours as the Moon passes through Earth’s outer – or 'penumbral' – shadow.

Earth has two types of shadows – penumbral and umbral. The umbra is the central cone of darkness that tapers away from Earth, and the penumbra is a much lighter shadow that spreads out from the edges of the umbra. When Friday’s full moon moves into this light shadow, it will cause a penumbral lunar eclipse – one of three types of lunar eclipse.

The eclipse is expected to begin on Friday 16 September at 4:54pm UTC (5:54pm BST, or 17 September 2:54am AEST), and will hit its peak at 6:54pm UTC (7:54pm BST, or 17 September 4:54am AEST).

The eclipse will last for exactly 3 hours, 59 minutes and 16 seconds, and you don't want to miss it – it’s the last harvest moon eclipse of any kind that we’ll see until 2024.