{"id":1020180,"date":"2026-08-24T02:40:21","date_gmt":"2026-08-24T02:40:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/1020180\/"},"modified":"2026-08-24T02:40:21","modified_gmt":"2026-08-24T02:40:21","slug":"look-up-for-a-partial-lunar-eclipse-thursday-night-wral-com","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/1020180\/","title":{"rendered":"Look up for a partial lunar eclipse Thursday night :: WRAL.com"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Moon pass through Earth\u2019s shadow late Thursday night into early Friday morning, with the best part of the show coming shortly after midnight.<\/p>\n

The Aug. 27-28 event will be a deep partial lunar eclipse 96% of the Moon\u2019s disk will be inside Earth\u2019s umbra, the darkest part of the shadow. While not quite a total lunar eclipse, it’s still worth stepping outside to see.. NASA says the partial phase begins at 10:34 p.m. The best time to watch will be between midnight and 12:30 a.m. Friday as the Moon moves deepest into Earth’s shadow. Maximum eclipse will occur around 12:13 a.m. Friday, Aug. 28.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"\/<\/p>\n

This will not be a total lunar eclipse, so viewers should not expect the entire Moon to turn the deep red or orange associated with a \u201cblood moon.\u201d Nearly all of the Moon will enter Earth\u2019s darkest shadow, but a small sliver will remain brightly lit. The shadowed portion can still take on a coppery or reddish hue as sunlight passes through Earth\u2019s atmosphere, though the effect will be less dramatic than during a total eclipse.<\/p>\n

While watching, notice the curved edge of the shadow. You are seeing the same evidence ancient Greek astronomers used to understand that Earth is spherical. Aristotle noted in the 4th century B.C. that Earth\u2019s shadow on the Moon was always curved, regardless of the eclipse\u2019s angle or timing.<\/p>\n

A lunar eclipse occurs when the Sun, Earth and Moon align, placing the Moon in Earth\u2019s shadow. Some sunlight passes through Earth\u2019s atmosphere, where blue wavelengths are scattered more readily than red and orange light, giving the eclipsed portion its warm color.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\tWhen to watch<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. 9:24 p.m.: Penumbral eclipse begins. This stage produces only a subtle dimming and can be difficult to notice with the naked eye.\n<\/li>\n
  2. 10:34 p.m. Umbral eclipse begins. the Moon starts moving into Earth\u2019s darker umbral shadow. From that point, observers should be able to watch Earth\u2019s shadow gradually move across the\n<\/li>\n
  3. 11:15 p.m.: 50% partial eclipse, this is a great time to see Earth’s curvature cast onto the surface of the Moon\n<\/li>\n
  4. 12:12:53 a.m. Friday, maximum eclipse, when 96.3% of the Moon will be within the umbra.\n<\/li>\n
  5. 1:11 a.m. 50% partial eclipse\n<\/li>\n
  6. 1:52 a.m.: Umbral eclipse ends\n<\/li>\n
  7. 1:02 a.m. Penmbral eclipse ends\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    For most people, there is little reason to stay up for the entire five-hour event. The most worthwhile viewing will be from roughly 10:30 p.m. until 2 a.m., with the deepest part of the eclipse around 12:13 a.m. This also provides a good amount of time to catch a glimps i<\/p>\n

    \t\t\t\t\t\t\tWhere to watch<\/p>\n

    \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"\/the most visible parts of the eclipse will be visible from all but the Pacific Northwest<\/p>\n

    This partial lunar eclipse will be fully visible from most of the United States and Canada.\u00a0 while western states will miss the penuberal eclipse, the dimming of the Moon is so subtle during this period they won’t be missing much. The east cost is particularly well placed for this eclipse as the Moon will be high in the sky during maximum eclipse.<\/p>\n

    \t\t\t\t\t\t\tHow to get the best view<\/p>\n

    Lunar eclipses are easy to watch because no special eye protection is required. Unlike a solar eclipse, it is safe to look directly at an eclipsed Moon. The main challenge is finding a clear view of the sky.<\/p>\n

    In Raleigh, the Moon will be high enough during the main event that trees and buildings should be less of an issue. Find an open spot with a clear view to the south and southeast. You do not need to escape city lights, though darker locations may make subtle color changes easier to see.<\/p>\n

    Binoculars or a small telescope can make Earth\u2019s shadow easier to see, but are not necessary. A camera or phone can capture the Moon, though photographing an eclipsed Moon can be tricky because of the contrast between the shadowed and brightly lit portions.<\/p>\n

    Start watching around 10:30 p.m. to see Earth\u2019s shadow gradually move across the Moon rather than catching only the final stages near midnight.<\/p>\n

    Clouds will ultimately determine visibility. Forecasts currently call for partly cloudy skies Thursday evening, with conditions expected to improve around midnight as the eclipse peaks.<\/p>\n

    \t\t\t\t\t\t\tNext eclipse(s)<\/p>\n

    The next lunar eclipses visible from the Raleigh area are both the less impressive penumbral variety on\u00a0 Feb. 20, 2027 and Aug. 17, 2027.\u00a0 The drought of visible lunar eclipses from our area continues into 2028.<\/p>\n

    Raleigh will get to see two total lunar eclipses in 2029 however, on June 26 (low in the eastern sky), and December 20 (much higher, similar to this week’s).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Moon pass through Earth\u2019s shadow late Thursday night into early Friday morning, with the best part of…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":1020181,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[24],"tags":[109111,109110,159,99487,783,67,132,68],"class_list":["post-1020180","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-space","tag-eclipse","tag-lunar-eclipse","tag-science","tag-skywatching","tag-space","tag-united-states","tag-unitedstates","tag-us"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/117148179040719663","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1020180","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1020180"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1020180\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1020181"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1020180"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1020180"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1020180"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}