Los Angeles Got A Blood-Moon Show That Missed Totality By Inches
Los Angeles had a front-row seat to one seriously groovy lunar show Thursday night, August 27, 2026, as the Moon slipped almost entirely into Earth’s dark inner shadow.
Technically, this was a deep partial lunar eclipse — not a total one — but it came mighty close. At maximum eclipse, roughly 96.3% of the Moon’s disk was inside Earth’s umbra, leaving only a thin bright edge while the rest of the lunar surface took on that familiar coppery-red eclipse glow.
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Ninety-Six Percent Covered Is Basically The Moon Teasing Us
NASA classified the August 27–28 event as a partial lunar eclipse, while Griffith Observatory had a little more fun with it, calling the night a “Partial Practically Total Lunar Eclipse.” Fair enough. When only a sliver of the Moon escapes Earth’s umbral shadow, “partial” starts feeling almost technically rude.
From Los Angeles, the partial phase began shortly after 7:30 p.m. PDT. The eclipse reached its deepest point at about 9:13 p.m., when the Moon was already well above the southeastern horizon. The umbral phase then slowly unwound until around 10:52 p.m.
And Yes, The Moon Really Can Turn That Gorgeous Coppery Red
The reddish color is the same basic atmospheric trick that paints sunsets red. During a lunar eclipse, sunlight passing through Earth’s atmosphere is filtered and bent toward the Moon. Shorter blue wavelengths scatter more easily, while warmer red and orange light makes it through — giving the eclipsed portion of the Moon its moody copper glow.
Unlike a solar eclipse, no special eye protection is needed. You can stare directly at a lunar eclipse with the naked eye, binoculars or a telescope without worrying about frying your eyeballs. Nature occasionally gives us a spectacle without attaching terms and conditions.
L.A. Will Have To Wait A Few Years For The Real Total Deal
This one stopped just shy of becoming a full blood moon, and Southern California will be waiting a while for the next true total lunar eclipse visible from Los Angeles. Griffith Observatory lists the next one for June 25, 2029.
So for one late-summer night in 2026, we will happily take the 96-percent version. Nearly total, completely gorgeous and very much worth looking up for.
Watch INYIM Media’s Los Angeles Lunar Eclipse View
INYIM Media captured the August 27 lunar eclipse from Los Angeles as the Moon approached its 96-percent maximum coverage.
Don’t have TikTok? Watch on IG.
Source: NASA; Griffith Observatory.
