The August 27-28, 2026 Partial Lunar Eclipse with Vespera and Hestia

On the night of August 27–28, 2026, a deep partial lunar eclipse will take place. It will be visible across the Atlantic-facing half of the planet: the Americas, Europe, and Africa. At maximum, roughly 96% of the Moon's visible surface will be immersed in Earth’s dark umbral shadow. Most of the lunar disc will glow a deep red-copper, with only a thin bright sliver of direct sunlight left on one limb. Visually the effect comes very close to a total eclipse, even though this one remains, technically, a partial eclipse. The eclipse will not be visible at all from eastern and southeastern Asia, Australia, New Zealand, or most of the Pacific, where the Moon is below the horizon throughout the event.

The best views are from the Americas, where the Moon rides high in the sky; from Europe and West Africa the Moon sits low in the west, close to moonset.

In this guide, you’ll learn what’s happening, what to look for, and when to observe from your location with Vespera and Hestia.

Observing the eclipse from North America (evening of August 27)

North America is well placed for this eclipse. Across the United States, Canada, and Mexico, the entire umbral eclipse, from the first dark bite to the last, unfolds during the late evening of August 27 (after midnight in the Eastern Time Zone). Visibility of the very start depends on longitude: eastern regions see the Moon high overhead, while the far Pacific coast catches the Moon just as it rises.

Where the whole umbral eclipse is visible

From the Eastern, Central, and Mountain time zones (New York, Toronto, Miami, Chicago, Dallas, Mexico City, Denver), the Moon is comfortably above the horizon for the full event, climbing high in the southeastern-to-southern sky. These regions get the complete show, including the deep maximum around local mid-evening to just after midnight.

Where only part of the eclipse is visible

On the Pacific coast, the Moon rises around the start of the eclipse, so the earliest minutes happen with the Moon very low in the east, or still below the horizon. From Los Angeles, the Moon has only just cleared the horizon when the partial phase begins; from Seattle, the Moon rises after the partial phase is already underway, so it comes up already bitten by Earth’s shadow.

Observers in the West should find a clear eastern horizon. Once the Moon climbs a little, the deep maximum and the entire second half of the eclipse are easy to see.

Partial eclipse timetable and visibility (local…