Blood Moon Schedule for 2025 to 2030

Your Complete Blood Moon & Eclipse Guide

Updated August 24, 2026

Hey there, stargazers! Have you ever looked up at the night sky and seen the full moon glowing bright? Now imagine that same moon turning a spooky, fiery red — like it’s blushing from all the attention. That’s a blood moon eclipse, and it’s one of the coolest things in space you can watch right from your backyard.

Here’s the exciting part: you don’t have to wait long for something to happen. In just a few days, on August 27–28, 2026, the Moon will pass almost entirely into Earth’s shadow — a deep partial eclipse that will look eerily close to a blood moon, even though it technically isn’t one. The real thing, a full blood moon, isn’t due until New Year’s Eve 2028. We’ll walk through both below, plus every total lunar eclipse and the two headline solar eclipses on the calendar through 2029.

Why Does the Moon Turn Red?

Here’s the science: Earth orbits the Sun, and the Moon orbits Earth. A handful of times a year, during a full moon, the three line up closely enough for Earth to cast its shadow on the Moon — that’s a lunar eclipse. If the Moon passes fully into the darkest part of that shadow (the umbra), sunlight still reaches it indirectly, filtered and bent through Earth’s atmosphere the same way a sunset turns orange and red. That leftover light paints the Moon a deep copper-red. That’s your blood moon.

Not every lunar eclipse gets the full red treatment, though. “Blood moon” isn’t a formal astronomical term — it’s just the popular name people use, and it generally refers to a total lunar eclipse, where the whole Moon slips into the umbra. A partial eclipse, like the one coming this week, only covers part of the Moon (96% in this case), so you get a dramatic reddish-orange shading rather than a fully crimson disk. A penumbral eclipse is even subtler — just a faint dimming that’s easy to miss entirely.

Live Countdown

Countdowns run to the moment of greatest eclipse (UTC), shown in your local time.

This Week: The August 27–28, 2026 Partial Eclipse

This is the one to watch this week. At maximum, 96.3% of the Moon will sit inside Earth’s darkest shadow (NASA) — the deepest partial lunar eclipse since September 2024, and the best lunar eclipse of any kind until New Year’s Eve 2028 (two very shallow partial eclipses happen in January and July 2028, but they’ll barely dim the Moon, let alone redden it). The partial phase runs roughly from 10:34 PM to 1:52 AM Eastern (02:34–05:52 UTC), with greatest eclipse at 12:13 AM ET (4:13 UTC) on the 28th. Near that peak, expect the shadowed 96% of the Moon to glow a dusky orange-red, with a thin bright sliver still lit by direct sunlight. NASA puts the viewing footprint at the Americas (except Alaska and northwestern Canada), western Europe, and western Africa — no glasses or filters needed, this one’s safe for naked-eye viewing.

Upcoming Total Lunar Eclipses (True Blood Moons)

After this week’s partial eclipse, the wait for a genuine total lunar eclipse is a bit longer — but when it comes, we get a nice little run of them:

Solar Eclipses Worth Knowing About

Solar eclipses aren’t blood moons, but they’re part of the same eclipse seasons and worth marking down. Unlike lunar eclipses, these always require certified eclipse glasses or a solar filter — never look at the Sun directly.

• February 6, 2027 — Annular “Ring of Fire” Eclipse. Greatest eclipse at about 16:00 UTC, with up to 7 minutes 51 seconds of annularity — one of the longest annular eclipses this decade. The path crosses southern Chile, Argentina, Uruguay, and Brazil, then coastal West Africa (Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Togo, Benin, Nigeria).
• August 2, 2027 — Total Solar Eclipse, popularly nicknamed the “Eclipse of the Century” (not an official designation). Greatest eclipse at about 10:07 UTC, with up to 6 minutes 23 seconds of totality near Luxor, Egypt — the longest totality reachable on accessible land this century. The path of totality also crosses southern Spain, Gibraltar, Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, Saudi Arabia, and Yemen, with a partial eclipse visible across most of Europe, Africa, the Middle East, and parts of Asia.

Two very shallow partial lunar eclipses also occur on January 12 and July 6, 2028 — barely a bite out of the Moon, not enough to notice any reddening.

How to Watch Like a Pro

• Lunar eclipses (blood moons): Completely safe to watch with the naked eye — no glasses needed. Find a spot away from city lights for the best contrast.
• Solar eclipses: Never look directly at the Sun without certified eclipse glasses or a solar filter, even during a partial or annular phase.
• Check the weather a day or two out — clear skies matter more than anything else.
• Photography: A smartphone on night mode with a small tripod can capture a surprisingly good lunar eclipse photo. For solar eclipses, your camera needs the same solar filter your eyes do.
• If clouds ruin your night, NASA’s eclipse site streams most major eclipses live.

Which one will you chase first — this week’s almost-blood-moon, or the real thing in 2028? Clear skies, everyone.