After the total solar eclipse last 12 August and the Perseid meteor shower, 13 August 2026 here we are again looking at the sky !
The early hours of Friday 28 August will reward very early risers in the UK, Europe and Africa with a fine lunar eclipse. Though not quite a total eclipse, it will transform the moon into a dramatic sight as dawn approaches.
This eclipse is a member of Saros 138. The eclipses in a given saros series are separated by 18 years, 11 days, 8 hours. The previous eclipse in this saros series occurred on August 16, 2008, and the next takes place on September 7, 2044.
On August 28, 2026, the evening of the 27th in some time zones), the Moon passes into the shadow of Earth, creating a deep partial eclipse.
🌒Which countries will watch ?
At the moment of greatest eclipse, 4:13 a.m. Universal Time, 96.3% of the Moon's disk is within Earth's umbra, the central part of the shadow where the Sun is completely blocked by Earth. This part of the eclipse is visible in the Americas (except Alaska and northwestern Canada), western Europe and western Africa.
⌚Hour :
The penumbra is the part of Earth's shadow where the Sun is only partially covered by Earth. The effect of the penumbra on the Moon's appearance is subtle. But after the partial phase begins, at 2:34 UTC (10:34 p.m. Eastern on the night of the 27th), the umbra's dramatic effect is easily visible as it takes an increasingly large bite out of the disk of the full Moon.
Less than an hour later, the part of the Moon still in sunlight will be small enough for observers' eyes to adapt to darkness and perceive the coppery color of the part of the Moon within the umbra. The visualizations here mimic this dark adaptation by increasing the apparent photographic exposure around the time of greatest eclipse.
"Obscuration is more intuitive — it's always between 0 and 1 — and it more closely matches the visual experience. You can say without qualification that "96.3% of the Moon's disk" will be within the umbra."
NASA
💬Where to watch ?
"A world map showing where the eclipse is visible at different phases. Contours mark the boundary around the part of Earth where each phase is visible. The start of the partial phase, for example, is visible everywhere within the orange contour. The map is centered on 63°8'W, the sublunar point at greatest eclipse (the longitude where the Moon is highest in the sky). The eclipse can't be seen in the gray areas outside the contours."
NASA
As the eclipse unfolds, the moon will be sinking, so find an observation site with an uninterrupted view towards the western horizon, and enjoy the view as the eclipse slips from view while the dawn gathers behind you in the east.
Unlike a solar eclipse, a lunar eclipse is completely safe to watch with the naked eye. Binoculars will even reveal subtle shades of colour across the moon’s surface.
Observers across much of the Americas will be able to enjoy the eclipse from beginning to end from late night on Thursday 27 August, while those in New Zealand will catch little more than its closing moments much later on Friday.
Skygazers in America will be able to catch the rare celestial show as Earth's shadow falls across the Moon.
