96% Lunar Eclipse Set for Tonight

A deep partial lunar eclipse will cover 96% of the moon, the best until 2028.

On the night of August 27–28, 2026, a deep partial lunar eclipse will see 96.2% of the moon pass into Earth's dark umbral shadow, according to both Space.com and NBC News. Lunar eclipses occur when Earth slides between the sun and a full moon, casting a shadow on the lunar surface. This event will be visible across North America, South America, parts of Europe, and parts of Africa, with Space.com reporting the best views expected from the Americas. The full moon in question is August's "Sturgeon Moon," and it will appear dimmed and reddish-orange at peak coverage.

Despite the dramatic reddish tint many observers will see, Space.com emphasizes that this is not a true "blood moon" because the eclipse never reaches totality — at no point will the entire lunar surface fall under Earth's shadow. NBC News notes that Earth's shadow appears reddish orange on the lunar surface because of the way Earth's atmosphere scatters sunlight, which is why total lunar eclipses earn the blood-moon nickname. During this partial event, a sliver of the moon remains outside the umbra, so the red coloration will be striking but not as complete as during a fully total eclipse. The effect comes from longer red wavelengths passing through Earth's atmosphere while shorter blue wavelengths are scattered away.

NBC News reports the eclipse begins at 9:23 p.m. ET on Thursday, August 27, when the moon first enters the outer part of Earth's shadow. The partial phase — when the shadow starts taking a visible "bite" out of the lunar disk — gets underway at 10:33 p.m. ET. Peak eclipse, when 96.2% of the lunar surface is shrouded, occurs at 12:12 a.m. ET on Friday, August 28. The event ends at 3:01 a.m. ET. Space.com provides corresponding local times across North America: 11:12 p.m. CDT, 10:12 p.m. MDT, 9:12 p.m. PDT, and 8:12 p.m. AKDT for maximum eclipse. Space.com advises looking about 39 minutes before peak to watch Earth's shadow inch across the surface.

Space.com reports that about 12% of the world's population — roughly 987 million people — will see all phases of the eclipse, while around 16%, or 1.3 billion, will see the entire partial phase. For viewing conditions, Space.com says western U.S. states, northern Chile, and inland Brazil statistically offer the best odds of clear skies. The Colorado Sun cites meteorologist Chris Bianchi giving a 70–80% chance of good conditions along Colorado's Front Range, though clouds could threaten areas south and east of Denver. CNY Central reports that Central New York should have enough intervals of clearer skies for viewing, despite not being absolutely clear everywhere during the eclipse.

NBC News points out that this lunar eclipse follows a total solar eclipse that wowed skywatchers in southern Europe roughly two weeks earlier, darkening skies over Spain, parts of Portugal, Greenland, Iceland, and northern Russia. According to NBC News, solar and lunar eclipses usually come in pairs because the sun is about 400 times farther from Earth than the moon while also being 400 times larger, making them appear the same size in our sky. Solar eclipses happen during the new moon phase, and roughly two weeks later, when the moon is on the opposite side of Earth, lunar eclipses can occur during the full moon phase. This geometric coincidence is what produces the paired eclipse pattern observers see each season.

Space.com describes this as the most impressive lunar eclipse anywhere on Earth until a total lunar eclipse on December 31, 2028. The next partial lunar eclipse, according to Space.com, will occur on January 11–12, 2028, but only 2.4% of the moon will enter Earth's umbral shadow — a far cry from tonight's 96.2%. CNY Central echoes that the next time their area can view a total lunar eclipse will not be until December 31, 2028. For now, tonight's event stands as the celestial highlight of the season.