Blood Moon 2026: When and where to watch lunar eclipse

A Blood Moon will light up the early morning sky on 28 August, but viewers in the UK will need to wake up before sunrise to catch it. The partial lunar eclipse will peak at 5.12am local time, when around 90% of the Moon will be covered.

In August, the full Moon lines up with this event. It is also known as the Sturgeon Moon. It is not a total eclipse. Even so, part of the Moon will pass into Earth’s shadow. If you watch at that time, you might notice a red tint. Some people then call it a 'blood moon'.

When will the August lunar eclipse occur?

The lunar eclipse will start tonight at 3:33am and on peak at 5:12am. During the peak time, about 90% of the moon shall be shadowed by the earth.

The eclipse is considered partial since only a portion of the lunar disc will stay out of Earth’s shadow. However, the colour of the Moon will change to a coppery hue.

Why does the Moon turn red?

The red colour is caused by sunlight that passes through the Earth’s atmosphere to reach the Moon. The shorter wavelength blue light is scattered by the atmosphere, whereas red and orange colours are transmitted to the Moon.

It is this process that makes the eclipse appear as a “Blood Moon".

How do you see the August Blood Moon?

A telescope or any special equipment is not needed either. The difficulty here is to find a spot where you can see an unobstructed sky in the south-west direction.

As the Moon will be near its set point, there is a chance that tall buildings and trees may obstruct the view, and the low position may also cause an interesting effect when the Moon seems larger than usual.

Lunar eclipses happen more often than solar eclipses; however, they still need a perfect alignment of the sun, Earth, and moon.