A very nice, nearly total lunar eclipse is the highlight of the August 2026 sky.
A total solar eclipse visible in Europe [Greenland, Iceland and Spain] precedes this on Aug. 12.
The lunar eclipse visible in the United States is on the night of Aug. 28/29.
The partial lunar eclipse begins on Aug. 28 at 10:53 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time when the full moon moves into the Earth’s shadow.
Eventually 96% of the moon’s lit surface will be inside this shadow.
The eclipse lasts until 1:52 p.m., with maximum eclipse occurring at 12:13 p.m.
Lunar eclipses last a long time, allowing us to look at them and then go back several times to check the progress of the moon sliding into Earth’s shadow. The moon gradually appears to darken with a reddish tint as some sunlight passing through Earth’s atmosphere passes into the shadow.
It is a remarkable sight!
The only drawback this time is the late hour when it occurs on both sides of midnight.
Aug. 12 also is the peak night for the Perseid meteor shower. The moon is at new phase so it will not interfere with meteor watching.
The Perseids meteors are debris left behind by Comet Swift-Tuttle 109P, which completes an orbit around the sun every 133 years.
Peak meteor watching nights are Aug. 12 and 13, and the best time is after midnight toward dawn in the northeastern sky.
Sixty to 80 meteors can be expected to be seen on this moon-less night.
August nights are warm.
Venus shines brightly in our western skies after sunset all month.
A three-day-old crescent moon will be seen just below Venus on Aug. 15, and the pair will set about 90 minutes after the sun.
Saturn can be found among the stars of Pisces in the southeastern sky around 11:30 p.m. with the waning gibbous moon nearby on Aug. 4.
Mars rises in the eastern sky around 2:30 p.m. this month, but look for it around 4 to 5 a.m. when on Aug. 9 the moon is nearby.
Jupiter is invisible for the first two weeks of August, but on Aug. 15 it rises in the eastern sky sitting very close to Mercury, about 45 minutes before sunrise. Clear views right to the eastern horizon are required for seeing these two planets.