Near-Total Blood Moon Eclipse Dazzles the Americas

A deep partial lunar eclipse peaks overnight Aug 27-28, with 96% of the moon in Earth's shadow.

Overnight from Thursday, August 27, into Friday, August 28, a deep partial lunar eclipse will sweep across the Americas, offering skywatchers a striking celestial display. According to NBC News, nearly the entire moon — 96.2% at the eclipse's peak — will be shrouded in Earth's shadow, coming tantalizingly close to a total eclipse without fully crossing that threshold. NBC 6 South Florida reports that from Miami, the eclipse will cover about 93% of the moon, enough that at times it may resemble a total eclipse to the naked eye. The event is visible across North and South America, with parts of Europe and Africa also catching portions of it.

Lunar eclipses occur when Earth slips between the sun and the moon, casting a shadow on the lunar surface. What makes this event notable is how deep the moon plunges into Earth's umbra — the darkest part of the shadow — without being entirely consumed. NBC News reports that 96.2% of the lunar surface will be covered at peak, while the Los Angeles Times gives a figure of 96% and notes that while the glow will resemble a blood moon, it is not considered a true one because the eclipse is only partial. The reddish-orange hue comes from Earth's atmosphere scattering sunlight onto the moon's surface, the same mechanism that gives total lunar eclipses their famous nickname.

NBC News and Spectrum News both report that the eclipse begins at 9:23 p.m. ET, when the moon enters the outer part of Earth's shadow. The main partial phase starts at 10:33 p.m. ET, and the eclipse peaks at 12:12 a.m. ET. According to NBC News, the event ends at 3:01 a.m. ET. In Southern California, the Los Angeles Times notes the moon will already be in its penumbral stage when it rises at 7:18 p.m. local time, with the main stage beginning at 7:34 p.m. For UK viewers, the BBC reports the moon enters Earth's umbra at roughly 03:33 BST Friday, with the Blood Moon most stark around 05:12 BST when about 90% of the moon is within the umbra. Unlike solar eclipses, lunar eclipses are safe to view with the naked eye.

This lunar eclipse follows a total solar eclipse that darkened skies in Spain, Portugal, Greenland, Iceland, and northern Russia roughly two weeks earlier. According to NBC News, solar and lunar eclipses usually come in pairs because of the way the moon, Earth, and sun align: the sun is 400 times farther from Earth than the moon while also being 400 times bigger, making them appear the same size in our sky. Solar eclipses occur during the new moon phase, and about two weeks later, when the moon is on the opposite side of Earth, lunar eclipses occur during the full moon phase. The BBC notes this eclipse arrives just weeks after the UK experienced its most dramatic partial solar eclipse in nearly 30 years.

The Times of India offers detailed Vedic astrology predictions for all 12 zodiac signs during this eclipse, noting that the moon will be in Aquarius and Shatabhisha Nakshatra during what they describe as a deep partial Chandra Grahan. According to the Times of India, eclipse periods in Vedic astrology can bring to light problems that had previously been overlooked. For Aquarius specifically, the publication says this eclipse is special because it occurs in the sign's own Rashi, potentially bringing questions about identity, relationships, and direction. Other signs receive varied predictions: Aries may see professional relationships take unexpected turns, while Taurus faces career pressure. These astrological interpretations are the publication's own and do not reflect consensus astronomy.

According to NBC News, the next lunar eclipse will occur overnight from February 20 to 21, 2027, and should be visible across North and South America, Europe, Africa, Asia, Australia, and Antarctica. Spectrum News identifies this upcoming event as a penumbral lunar eclipse visible from New York. The next solar eclipse, on February 6, will be visible in parts of South America and Africa, per NBC News. Meanwhile, the moon was in its Waxing Gibbous phase on August 25 at 92% illumination, according to Mashable, with the next full moon arriving on August 28 — the same date the eclipse reaches its peak, as full moons are the only phase during which lunar eclipses can occur.