Lunar Eclipses in 2027: Three Faint Penumbral Eclipses, and Which One the U.S. Can See
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How we wrote this: Eclipse dates, times, magnitudes and durations come from NASA's Five Millennium Catalog of Lunar Eclipses and its 2021–2030 decade table, and the visibility threshold from NASA's page on the appearance of lunar eclipses. NASA lists times in Terrestrial Dynamical Time (TD); we subtracted the catalog's ΔT of 76 seconds to get Universal Time, then converted to U.S. time zones and rounded to the minute. Moonrise and moonset times are U.S. Naval Observatory data for New York City and Los Angeles. All sources linked below and checked October 29, 2026.
There's no blood-red total lunar eclipse in 2027. NASA's catalog lists three lunar eclipses, and all three are penumbral: the Moon passes only through Earth's faint outer shadow, the penumbra, and never touches the dark inner shadow. NASA's own description: if you don't know one is happening, you might miss it.
The three 2027 eclipses at a glance
| Date | Greatest eclipse (UT) | Penumbral magnitude | Duration | Visible from (NASA) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Feb 20 | 23:13 | 0.927 | 4 h 1 min | Americas, Europe, Africa, Asia (NASA's current page adds western Australia) |
| Jul 18 | 16:03 | 0.001 | 12 min | Eastern Africa, Asia, Australia, Pacific |
| Aug 17 | 07:14 | 0.546 | 3 h 39 min | Pacific, Americas |
Penumbral magnitude is the fraction of the Moon's diameter inside the penumbra at greatest eclipse. That number decides whether there's anything to see.
What you can actually see
NASA's page on eclipse appearance explains that the early and late stages of a penumbral eclipse are invisible to the eye, and that a penumbral magnitude greater than about 0.6 is needed before skilled observers can detect faint shading across the Moon's disk. Even deep in the penumbra, some direct sunlight still reaches the Moon.
So for 2027:
- February 20 (0.93): the only one with a realistic chance of a visible effect, as a subtle gray shading on one side of the Moon around greatest eclipse.
- August 17 (0.55): below NASA's rough threshold. Most people won't notice any change.
- July 18 (0.0014): essentially a grazing touch. NASA's catalog lists it as the smallest penumbral lunar eclipse of 2001 to 2100.
February 20, 2027: at moonrise in the East
Greatest eclipse is at 23:13 UT, which is 6:13 PM EST. The penumbral phase runs about 4:12 PM to 8:13 PM EST.
- New York City: USNO data show moonrise at 5:32 PM EST and sunset at 5:37 PM. The Moon is rising as the eclipse builds, so look low in the east around 6:00 to 6:30 PM, as twilight deepens. It's a low-altitude view, so you'll need a clear eastern horizon.
- Los Angeles: the eclipse ends around 5:13 PM PST, before moonrise at 5:46 PM PST. Nothing to see on the West Coast.
This date is also February's full moon. See full moon dates for 2026–2027.
July 18, 2027: not for U.S. viewers
Greatest eclipse is at 16:03 UT (12:03 PM EDT), when the Moon is below the horizon across the U.S. NASA's visibility list is eastern Africa, Asia, Australia and the Pacific. And with a magnitude of 0.0014, there's nothing to see even there.
August 17, 2027: overnight across the Americas
Greatest eclipse is at 07:14 UT:
| Starts | Greatest | Ends | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Eastern (EDT) | 1:24 AM | 3:14 AM | 5:03 AM |
| Pacific (PDT) | 10:24 PM, Aug 16 | 12:14 AM | 2:03 AM |
USNO data put the full Moon above the horizon for the entire eclipse in both New York City (moonrise 7:35 PM EDT on August 16, moonset 6:22 AM on August 17) and Los Angeles (moonrise 7:24 PM PDT on August 16, moonset 6:35 AM on August 17). Visibility isn't the problem. The shallow magnitude is. If you're up anyway, compare the Moon's two edges near greatest eclipse. Don't expect a dramatic change.
Viewing tips
- Watch the Moon, not the Sun. A lunar eclipse happens at full Moon. Solar eclipses are a different event with strict eye-safety rules; see solar eclipse viewing safety.
- Binoculars make faint shading easier to judge. See stargazing with binoculars.
- A photo series taken with the same camera settings before and during the eclipse can show a difference that's hard to see by eye.
The next eclipses worth planning for
From NASA's 2021–2030 table:
| Date (UT) | Type | Notes from NASA's table |
|---|---|---|
| Jan 12, 2028 | Partial | Tiny umbral magnitude (0.066), 56-minute partial phase; Americas, Europe, Africa |
| Jul 6, 2028 | Partial | Europe, Africa, Asia, Australia |
| Dec 31, 2028 | Total | Europe, Africa, Asia, Australia, Pacific |
| Jun 26, 2029 | Total | The century's largest total lunar eclipse in NASA's catalog (umbral magnitude 1.84); Americas, Europe, Africa, Middle East |
For U.S. viewers, June 26, 2029 is the big one. In the meantime, 2027 has the August 2 total solar eclipse (not visible from the U.S.) and the February 6 annular eclipse for travelers.