A gorgeous partial lunar eclipse delighted stargazers overnight on Aug. 27-28, as Earth's shadow darkened the full "Sturgeon Moon" in an impressive display of orbital mechanics, and we've got the photos to prove it!
The lunar eclipse occurred as Earth passed between the sun and the moon, granting viewers a spectacular view of our planet's deep umbral shadow as it advanced to cover 96% of the lunar disk, leaving a tiny crescent exposed to direct sunlight.
Photographers were ready and waiting to capture the moon as it turned blood red around the point of maximum eclipse on Aug. 28, as light filtered through Earth's atmosphere via Rayleigh Scattering saturated its shadowed surface. Read on to see our favorite photos of the Aug. 27-28 partial lunar eclipse.
Partial lunar eclipse August 2026: Best photos from around the world
We kick off with a gorgeous photo of the full moon was captured from the Hungarian village of Zsujta by Robert Nemeti just as Earth's shadow took its first "bite" out of the lunar disk, shortly after the partial phase of the eclipse began at 10:33 p.m. EDT on Aug. 27 (0233 GMT on Aug. 28).
Tycho Crater is visible in the lower region of the lunar disk close to the shadow, while bright ejecta rays of reflective material brighten the darker lunar seas, where lava solidified to form basaltic plains billions of years ago.
The eclipsed moon shared the stage with the Parthenon in Athens in this tranquil wide-angle photo from Costas Baltas. Earth's curved silhouette can be seen clearly on the lunar disk, serving as proof of our planet's spherical shape, just as it did for the ancient Greek philosophers who helped pioneer the idea over 2,000 years ago.
Giuseppe Pappa created a stunning composite image of the eclipse depicting Earth's shadow as it rolled across the lunar surface during the partial phase from Pedara, Sicily.
Pappa snapped the images using a Canon 760D with a 300 mm lens to capture the lunar seas standing out on the remaining sunlit portion of the lunar surface.
This atmospheric view of the partially eclipsed moon shining over the Suleymaniye Mosque in Istanbul, Turkiye, was taken by Isa Terli.
Kevin McCarthy captured a spectacular view as the eclipsed moon shone blood red in the skies over North Carolina, after a brief weather scare!
"With thunderstorms in the area throughout the night, I was worried I may miss the chance to capture this event," McCarthy told Space.com. "But, at the last minute, as the maximum shadow coverage approached, the clouds parted long enough for me to get the shot."
Photographer Josh Dury snapped his own incredible view of that same eclipsed lunar disk as glowed in the predawn sky over the United Kingdom
"The fantastic moment when the moon turned red," Dury said to Space.com. "Nearly didn't get this image due to unexpected fog at my first location. My gut said - 'move'. Approaching the peak of the eclipse this was the image I was able to capture."
The almost blood moon's crimson coloring was also on full display in this shot from Mauro Pimentel, taken as a thin crescent of the lunar disk was left exposed to direct sunlight in the skies over Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Another stunning composite view of last night's lunar shenanigans was taken by Kohinoor Kar, who documented the transformation of the lunar disk from full Sturgeon Moon to an eclipsed near-blood moon from Phoenix, Arizona.
Photographer Lorenzo Di Cola lined up a stunning shot of the full moon as it glowed close to the Rocca Calascio fortress in Calascio, Italy, on Aug. 28, as Earth's shadow retreated from the lunar disk following the point of maximum eclipse.
Finally, Angel Martinez captured this gorgeous shot of the eclipsed Sturgeon Moon setting behind a cluster of skyscrapers in Madrid, Spain, as atmospheric effects distorted the true color and outline of the lunar disk.
The next great lunar eclipse won't occur until New Year's Eve in December 2028, when a blood moon eclipse will transform Earth's satellite for 5.3 billion people across Asia, Australia and the Pacific, along with parts of Europe, Africa and the U.S.
Thankfully, we'll only have to wait until Feb. 6, 2027, for the next annular solar eclipse, when the moon will pass in front of the sun to create a magnificent 'ring of fire' along a narrow path crossing South America and West Africa.
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.
