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Near-Total Lunar Eclipse 2026: When to See the Blood Moon and How to Watch

A near-total lunar eclipse will bring a spectacular sight to those in North and South America Thursday night, two weeks after a total solar eclipse dazzled skywatchers in southern Europe.

Lunar eclipses occur when the sun is eclipsed by the Earth's shadow falling on the moon. This week's event will block almost the full moon (96.2% coverage at maximum eclipse) from view.

In the continental U.S., skywatchers will get some of the best views, weather permitting. Other parts of North America, South America, parts of Europe and Africa will also see the eclipse.

Interestingly, during the eclipse, the shadow that the Earth casts on the Moon will appear reddish orange in color due to the way that the atmosphere of the Earth scatters light from the sun. Thus, a total lunar eclipse is also referred to as a “blood moon”.

The eclipse will start at 9:23 p.m. ET on Thursday when the moon first moves into the outer shadow of Earth. It does get interesting, however, starting at 10:33 p.m. ET, when the Earth's shadow starts to envelope the moon's surface, sort of "biting" into the lunar surface.

The eclipse will reach the peak of totality at 12:12 a.m. ET when over 96% of the surface of the moon will be in total eclipse. It will end at 3:01 a.m. ET when the moon comes out of the edge of Earth's shadow.

From most locations in North and South America they will experience the entire eclipse (except those in Alaska and northernmost Canada). But for people in Europe and Africa, the eclipse starts early Friday and the moon will be setting as the eclipse proceeds.Unlike solar eclipses, lunar eclipses can be safely observed without the aid of any optical devices, and binoculars and telescopes will give for more dramatic views of the eclipse.

The lunar eclipse comes after a total solar eclipse, in which the sun, the moon and the Earth line up with the moon obscuring the sun, which darkened skies across Spain, a part of Portugal, Greenland, Iceland and northern Russia.

Usually the 3 celestial bodies, the moon, earth and sun, have a happy conjunction and solar and lunar eclipses happen in pairs. From the earthy point of view, the three are in alignment, because the sun is 400 times farther from earth than the moon, and 400 times larger. This gives them the same size in the sky.

The new moon is the time when solar eclipses take place. Lunar eclipses happen at the time of full moon, around 2 weeks after, when the moon is on the opposite side of the Earth from the sun.

The next solar eclipse Feb. 6 will be seen in part of South America and Africa. The next eclipse will be on the night of Feb. 20-21. It should be visible in North and South America, Europe, Africa, Asia, Australia and Antarctica, according to NASA. 

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