How to see the 2026 ‘blood moon’ eclipse this week
This near-total eclipse will be visible from the Americas, Africa and Europe—here’s how to see it
A near-total lunar eclipse, also known as a ‘blood moon’ eclipse, will be visible this week to sky-gazers in the Americas, Africa and Europe. This eclipse will occur when Earth’s umbra, or shadow, covers 96.3 percent of the moon.
The eclipse will begin around 9:23 P.M. EDT on Thursday and will start to enter Earth’s dark umbral shadow at around 10:34 P.M. EDT. The moment of greatest eclipse, when the moon will turn a reddish hue, will take place at around 12:13 A.M. EDT on August 28. This date also marks Scientific American’s 181st birthday.
A lunar eclipse occurs when Earth passes directly between the sun and the moon, causing blue light to be scattered away and red light to reach the moon, hence the nickname ‘blood moon.’ To view the eclipse, head outside to a dark, safe location at around 10:34 P.M. EDT on Thursday, when the eclipse will begin. Your eyes will need approximately 30 minutes to adjust to the darkness.
This is the second and final lunar eclipse of the year, following a total lunar eclipse in March. However, if you miss it, more celestial events are coming in 2027, including two solar eclipses. The next total lunar eclipse will occur on New Year’s Eve in 2028.
Written by urgent.news from Scientific American's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
