August’s “almost Blood Moon” partial lunar eclipse has come and gone, delighting stargazers with a gorgeous natural light show as light filtered by our planet’s atmosphere turned it a deep crimson around the point of maximum eclipse.
But when is the next lunar eclipse?
Earth won’t darken the moon again until Feb. 20, 2027, when a penumbral eclipse will cast our planet’s soft outer shadow across February’s full “Snow Moon”, so named for the freezing weather that occurs around the time it rises.
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The darkening will be incredibly subtle compared to that of a partial lunar eclipse, where the moon passes into Earth’s intense inner shadow — the umbra — revealing our planet’s curved silhouette on the lunar surface.
Our planet’s deeper umbral shadow will miss the moon entirely on Feb. 20, 2027, setting the stage for an understated show of orbital mechanics, as the moon’s silver lustre is almost imperceptibly dimmed by Earth’s penumbra.
The soft penumbral shadow will be most apparent at 6:12 p.m. EST (2312 GMT) on Feb. 20, as the moon passes closer to our planet’s umbra, according to Time and Date. The shadow will be deepest around the moon’s north polar region, but even then the effect will be very subtle.
A good photography exercise would be to capture an image of the Snow Moon at the point of maximum eclipse, to compare with a photo of a regular full moon. Be sure to read our guide to photographing the moon and our picks of the best cameras and lenses for astrophotography if you’re looking to upgrade your gear.
Read more: What is a blood moon, and when can you see the next one?
The next lunar eclipse to rival August’s won’t occur until New Year’s Eve in December 2028, when a magnificent total lunar eclipse will transform Earth’s satellite into a magnificent “Blood Moon” in the skies over Asia, Australia and the Pacific.
Editor’s Note: If you would like to share your astrophotography with Space.com’s readers, then please send your photo(s), comments, and your name and location to spacephotos@space.com.