There is no blood moon in 2027: its three lunar eclipses, on February 20, July 18, and August 17, are all penumbral. The next blood moon is the total lunar eclipse of Sunday, December 31, 2028.
A blood moon is the popular name for the Moon during a total lunar eclipse, when it turns red or copper inside Earth’s shadow. 2027 has three lunar eclipses, but none is total or even partial, so the Moon will not turn red at any point in the year, according to NASA’s eclipse list.
The most recent blood moon was on Tuesday, March 3, 2026. The next is on New Year’s Eve 2028, best seen from Asia and Australia, and the next one the whole eastern United States can watch from start to finish is on the night of Monday, June 25, 2029.
This page lists the 2027 lunar eclipses, every blood moon from 2028 to 2033 with US viewing times, why the Moon turns red, and the other things people call a blood moon.
Table of Contents
Is there a blood moon in 2027?
No. A lunar eclipse turns the Moon red only when the Moon passes into the umbra, the dark central part of Earth’s shadow. All three 2027 lunar eclipses are penumbral: the Moon passes only through the penumbra, the faint outer shadow, and dims slightly without turning red.
| 2027 lunar eclipse | Greatest eclipse | Penumbral magnitude | Visible from the US? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Saturday, February 20 (Snow Moon) | 6:13 p.m. EST (23:13 UTC) | 0.93 | East Coast, at moonrise |
| Sunday, July 18 (Buck Moon) | 12:03 p.m. EDT (16:03 UTC) | Under 0.01 | No; too shallow to see anywhere |
| Tuesday, August 17 (Sturgeon Moon) | 3:14 a.m. EDT (07:14 UTC) | About 0.55 | Yes, the whole eclipse |
Times and magnitudes are from NASA and Wikipedia’s pages on the February, July, and August eclipses. The August 17 eclipse is the best of the three for US viewers, but even at its peak the Moon only takes on a faint grey shading on one edge.
All 12 full moons of the year are listed on Datescal’s Full Moon Calendar 2027: Every Full Moon Date, Time and Sign.
When is the next blood moon?
The table below lists every total lunar eclipse from 2028 to 2033, from NASA’s eclipse tables for 2021 to 2030 and 2031 to 2040, with contact times from Wikipedia and EclipseWise.
| Date | Totality (US Eastern Time) | Length of totality | Where visible | Good for US viewers? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sunday, December 31, 2028 | 11:16 a.m. to 12:28 p.m. EST | About 71 minutes | Europe, Africa, Asia, Australia; partly from western North America | No |
| Monday night, June 25, 2029 | 10:31 p.m. EDT to 12:13 a.m. EDT on June 26 | 1 hour 42 minutes | The Americas, Europe, Africa | Yes; all of it from the eastern US |
| Thursday, December 20, 2029 | 5:16 to 6:10 p.m. EST | About 54 minutes | North America rising, Europe, Africa, Asia | Partly; low in the east just after sunset |
| Sunday, April 25, 2032 | Daytime in the US | About 66 minutes | East Africa, Asia, Australia, Pacific | No |
| Monday, October 18, 2032 | Daytime in the US | About 47 minutes | Africa, Europe, Asia, Australia | No |
| Thursday, April 14, 2033 | Daytime in the US | About 49 minutes | Europe, Africa, Asia, Australia | No |
| Saturday, October 8, 2033 | Around dawn in the US | About 79 minutes | Asia, Australia, Pacific, the Americas | Yes, best in the West |
The June 25 to 26, 2029, eclipse is the one to plan for in the United States. According to Wikipedia, it is a central eclipse, with the Moon passing through the middle of Earth’s shadow, and it has the largest umbral magnitude of any lunar eclipse in the 21st century, 1.845, with 102 minutes and 40 seconds of totality.
Totality runs from 02:31 to 04:13 UTC on June 26, which is 10:31 p.m. to 12:13 a.m. EDT and 7:31 to 9:13 p.m. PDT on June 25. On the West Coast, the Moon rises around sunset, so the start of totality comes before or near moonrise there.
The December 31, 2028, eclipse falls on a Blue Moon, the second full moon of December 2028. The December 20, 2029, eclipse is the Cold Moon of that year; its totality, from 22:16 to 23:10 UTC according to Wikipedia, comes just after moonrise in the eastern United States.
When was the last blood moon?
The most recent blood moon was the total lunar eclipse of Tuesday, March 3, 2026, with greatest eclipse at 11:34 UTC (6:34 a.m. EST) and 58 minutes of totality, according to NASA and Wikipedia. NASA lists it as visible from East Asia, Australia, the Pacific, and the Americas.
The August 28, 2026, lunar eclipse was partial, with an umbral magnitude of 0.930, according to NASA, so about 93% of the Moon’s diameter entered the dark shadow, but the eclipse never became total.
From March 3, 2026, to December 31, 2028, the world goes nearly three years without a blood moon, and US viewers wait until June 25, 2029, for one they can see in full.
Why does the Moon turn red?
During a total lunar eclipse, Earth blocks direct sunlight from reaching the Moon, but some sunlight still bends through Earth’s atmosphere and onto it.
The atmosphere scatters blue light and lets red and orange light through, the same Rayleigh scattering that makes sunsets red. Space.com describes it as if “all the world’s sunrises and sunsets were projected onto the moon.”
Live Science quotes NASA: “When the moon is within the umbra, it will turn a reddish hue. Lunar eclipses are sometimes called ‘Blood Moons’ because of this phenomenon.” The shade varies from eclipse to eclipse.
Space.com says it depends on dust, water droplets, clouds, and volcanic ash in the atmosphere, and can range from dark red and brown to orange and pink.
Other meanings of “blood moon”
Wikipedia’s Blood moon page lists other uses of the name:
- Hunter’s Moon: some people use “blood moon” for the Hunter’s Moon, the first full moon after the Harvest Moon. In 2027, that is the full moon on Friday, October 15. It is an ordinary full moon, not an eclipse.
- The 2014 to 2015 tetrad: a run of four total lunar eclipses beginning in April 2014 drew religious “blood moon” prophecies.
Neither of these turns the Moon red. Only a total lunar eclipse does that.
How to see a blood moon
A total lunar eclipse needs no special equipment, and unlike a solar eclipse, it is safe to watch with the naked eye. These steps give the best view:
- Check the totality times for your time zone in the table above; the Moon is reddest in the middle of totality.
- Make sure the Moon will be above your horizon during totality; for the December 20, 2029, eclipse in the eastern US, that means a clear view low to the east just after sunset.
- Watch from a dark spot away from streetlights, where the dim red Moon stands out better.
- Use binoculars to see the colour change across the disc, since one edge of the Moon is usually darker than the other.
What a blood moon is not
Several events are confused with a blood moon. The table below sets out the differences.
| Term | What it means | Relation to 2027 |
|---|---|---|
| Blood moon | The red Moon of a total lunar eclipse | None in 2027 |
| Penumbral lunar eclipse | The Moon in Earth’s faint outer shadow; slight dimming, no red | February 20, July 18 and August 17, 2027 |
| Partial lunar eclipse | Part of the Moon in the dark shadow | None in 2027 |
| Solar eclipse | The Moon blocking the Sun, at new moon | February 6 and August 2, 2027, on Datescal’s Solar Eclipse 2027 page |
| Hunter’s Moon | The full moon after the Harvest Moon | October 15, 2027, not red |
| Supermoon | A full moon near the Moon’s closest point to Earth | January 22, 2027, not an eclipse |
Frequently asked questions
Is there a blood moon in 2027?
No. NASA lists three lunar eclipses in 2027, on February 20, July 18, and August 17, and all three are penumbral, so the Moon does not enter Earth’s dark shadow and does not turn red. The last blood moon was on March 3, 2026, and the next is on December 31, 2028.
When is the next blood moon?
The next blood moon is the total lunar eclipse of Sunday, December 31, 2028, with about 71 minutes of totality centred on 16:52 UTC, according to Wikipedia and EclipseWise. It is visible from Europe, Africa, Asia and Australia, but not well from the United States.
When is the next blood moon visible in the US?
The next total lunar eclipse fully visible from the eastern United States is on the night of Monday, June 25, 2029, with totality from 10:31 p.m. to 12:13 a.m. EDT. Wikipedia says it has the largest umbral magnitude of any lunar eclipse in the 21st century, with 102 minutes of totality.
Will the August 2027 lunar eclipse be a blood moon?
No. The August 17, 2027, eclipse is penumbral, with the Moon passing only through Earth’s faint outer shadow. It is visible across the United States, with greatest eclipse at 3:14 a.m. EDT, but the Moon only dims slightly on one edge and does not turn red.
Why is it called a blood moon?
During a total lunar eclipse, sunlight bent through Earth’s atmosphere reaches the Moon with its blue light scattered out, leaving red and orange light. NASA, as quoted by Live Science, says the Moon turns a reddish hue in Earth’s umbra, which is why lunar eclipses are sometimes called blood moons.
When was the last blood moon?
The last blood moon was the total lunar eclipse of Tuesday, March 3, 2026, with greatest eclipse at 6:34 a.m. EST (11:34 UTC) and 58 minutes of totality, according to NASA and Wikipedia. It was visible from East Asia, Australia, the Pacific, and the Americas.
Sources:
- NASA eclipse list 2027
- NASA solar eclipses 2021–2030
- NASA solar eclipses 2041–2050
- NASA lunar eclipses 2021–2030
- NASA lunar eclipses 2031–2040
- NASA eclipse safety
- Wikipedia: Solar eclipse of February 6, 2027
- Wikipedia: Solar eclipse of August 2, 2027
- EclipseWise: Total solar eclipse of 2027 August 2
- timeanddate.com: August 2, 2027 eclipse
- Space.com: 16 best places for the 2027 eclipse
- Space.com: Where the 2027 eclipse will be visible
- Moonblink: Annular eclipse of February 6, 2027
- Moonblink: 2027 calendar
- Partirou: February 6, 2027 eclipse
- Orbital Radar: Accra, February 6, 2027
- Smithsonian Magazine: When are the next solar eclipses?
- Wikipedia: June 2029 lunar eclipse
- Wikipedia: December 2029 lunar eclipse
- Wikipedia: March 2026 lunar eclipse
- EclipseWise: Total lunar eclipse of 2028 December 31
- Wikipedia: Blood moon
- Space.com: Why the Moon turns red
- Live Science: Why the Moon turns red
