Almost Total — The August 2026 Lunar Eclipse Over Long Island

Late on the night of August 27 and into the early morning hours of August 28, skywatchers across Long Island were treated to a dramatic lunar eclipse as the Full Moon slipped deep into the shadow of the Earth.

A lunar eclipse occurs when the Sun, Earth and Moon line up closely enough for the Moon to pass through Earth’s shadow. Unlike a solar eclipse, which can only be seen along a relatively narrow path on Earth, a lunar eclipse can be viewed from anywhere on the nighttime side of the planet where the Moon is above the horizon.

This particular eclipse was a deep partial lunar eclipse — not a total eclipse. At maximum eclipse, which occurred at approximately 12:13 a.m. EDT on August 28, about 96.3% of the Moon’s visible disk was inside Earth’s dark central shadow, or umbra. Only a thin portion of the Moon remained outside the umbra, producing the brilliant crescent visible along the upper edge in the photograph.

Although it fell just short of totality, much of the eclipsed Moon took on the familiar deep orange and reddish color associated with a “Blood Moon.” That color is created by sunlight passing through Earth’s atmosphere. Our atmosphere scatters much of the shorter blue wavelengths while allowing more of the red and orange wavelengths to pass through and bend toward the Moon. In a sense, the reddish light illuminating the eclipsed Moon is the combined glow of sunrises and sunsets around the edge of the Earth.

How Often Do Lunar Eclipses Occur?

Lunar eclipses aren't exceptionally rare. Eclipse seasons occur roughly twice each year, and NASA's calculations show that there is always at least one — and sometimes two — lunar eclipses during a roughly 345-day period. But they aren't all alike. Some are subtle penumbral eclipses, some are partial eclipses, and others become spectacular total lunar eclipses.

And not every lunar eclipse is visible from Long Island. Visibility depends upon which side of Earth is facing the Moon when the eclipse occurs. In fact, 2026 provided a good example: the March 3 eclipse was total globally, while the August 28 event was a partial eclipse.

For those of us watching from Long Island, the August eclipse was tantalizingly close. Unfortunately cloudy skies limited many of us to only catch quick glimpses as the moon moved through the clouds, but for this writer the timing couldn’t have been better as depicted in the photo above when the Earth's shadow swallowed nearly the entire lunar disk, leaving behind only that narrow, intensely bright rim.

Not quite a total lunar eclipse — but perhaps all the more visually interesting because of it.

Photo and editorial: Fred Greco / Island Photo News