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Near‑Total Lunar Eclipse Will Darken About 96% of the Moon on Aug. 27–28

Sunlight bent through Earth’s atmosphere should wash most of the lunar disk in red or copper tones and the exact hue will depend on dust, smoke and other aerosols.

During a partial lunar eclipse, a portion of the Moon's surface remains outside Earth's inner shadow, leaving a sliver of white on our otherwise darkened, ruddy satellite. Credit: Giuseppe Donatiello/Wikimedia Commons (CC0 1.0)
The moon turns a deep red during a total lunar eclipse, also known as a blood moon.
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Overview

  • The deep partial lunar eclipse will peak around 12:12–12:13 a.m. EDT on Aug. 28, when roughly 96.2–96.3% of the Moon’s visible disk will sit inside Earth’s darkest shadow.
  • Much of North and South America will see the event from start to finish, while western Europe and western Africa can catch the peak near dawn and India will largely miss the eclipse.
  • Official phase timings for Eastern Daylight Time are about 9:23 p.m. penumbral start, 10:33 p.m. partial start, 12:12–12:13 a.m. maximum, 1:51 a.m. partial end and 3:01 a.m. penumbral end.
  • The eclipse is safe to view with the naked eye so anyone can watch; binoculars or a small telescope will show more detail, and many observatories and NASA will offer livestreams and public viewing events.
  • The event follows the Aug. 12 solar eclipse as part of regular eclipse cycles (Saros 138), and observers will rate the Moon’s color and brightness against the Danjon scale because volcanic ash, wildfire smoke and other aerosols can strongly alter its appearance.