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New Yorkers may want to keep one eye on the sky (and the other on the weather app) this Thursday night, when a near-total lunar eclipse is set to turn August’s full moon a dramatic coppery red.
Just a few weeks after that solar eclipse, the celestial show will unfold overnight from Thursday, August 27, into Friday, August 28, as Earth passes between the sun and the moon. At its peak, Earth’s shadow will cover roughly 96-percent of the lunar surface, leaving behind only a slender bright crescent. Although it’s sometimes billed as a “blood moon,” this is technically a deep partial lunar eclipse, not a total one. Still, with almost the entire moon passing through the darkest part of Earth’s shadow, the visual effect should come remarkably close.
In New York City, the eclipse’s subtle penumbral phase begins at 9:23 pm on Thursday. The more noticeable partial phase starts at 10:33 pm, with maximum coverage arriving at 12:12 am Friday. The partial eclipse ends around 1:51 am and the entire event wraps up at 3:01 am.
The National Weather Service currently forecasts showers and possible thunderstorms in New York City on Thursday night, with an 80-percent chance of precipitation. Clouds could obscure some or all of the eclipse, though any breaks around midnight may provide a viewing window. Because forecasts can shift quickly, especially during a stormy New York summer, it’s worth checking conditions again on Thursday.
If the clouds cooperate, look toward the south-southeastern sky around midnight. Finding an open location with fewer buildings and bright lights—think a waterfront park, beach or elevated overlook—will help. No eclipse glasses are necessary: lunar eclipses are completely safe to watch with the naked eye. Binoculars or a small telescope can provide a sharper look at the contrast between the reddish shadow and the moon’s remaining bright edge.
The red color occurs because sunlight passing through Earth’s atmosphere loses more of its shorter blue wavelengths. The remaining red and orange light bends toward the moon—the same basic effect responsible for colorful sunrises and sunsets.
This particular eclipse belongs to a repeating sequence known as Saros 138. The previous eclipse in that sequence occurred in 2008 and the next arrives in 2044. That doesn’t mean New Yorkers must wait 18 years for another impressive lunar eclipse, however: another major one occurs at the end of 2028, followed by a total lunar eclipse visible from New York in June 2029.