Cape Girardeau residents will have an opportunity to get a close-up look at the lunar eclipse that will occur next Sunday.

The physics department at Southeast Missouri State University will provide binoculars and set up several telescopes at the north end of the Rhodes Hall parking lot on campus.

The viewing will occur only if skies are clear, with no cloud cover.

The eclipse will begin at 10:26 p.m., with mid-eclipse at 11:57 p.m. when 68 percent of the moon will be blocked from view. It will end at 1:27 a.m.

A lunar eclipse occurs every few years when the moon passes into the Earth's shadow. The last total eclipse visible from the Midwest was in August 1989.

For further details, contact Craig Joseph of the physics department at 651-2392.