Partial Lunar Eclipse To Occur On Thursday, August 27, 2026

An astronomical event will take place this evening and star gazers in both Wyoming and Montana might be able to see most of it.

A partial lunar eclipse will take place after sunset on Thursday, August 27th 2026, as the Earth passes between the sun and the moon, which will cause the planet to cast its shadow on its orbiting satellite, turning it into a blood red color.

The penumbral portion of the eclipse will start at about 7:23pm Mountain Time.

This is when the moon passes through the outer region of the Earth’s shadow.

Astronomers say a slight gray shade may appear on the moon’s surface, but it’s usually not noticeable.

Viewers will not be able to see the first 21 minutes of this event, because moonrise isn’t until about 7:44.

The partial eclipse will start at about 8:33pm, when the moon starts to pass through the main portion of the Earth’s shadow.

During that time, the moon will darken and eventually appear as a blood red color to viewers.

At about 10:12pm, the moon will be 96% eclipsed, which is the most anyone will be able to see.

After that, the eclipse process will start to reverse itself.

The moon will be back in the penumbral phase at about 11:51pm, and that will end at around 1:01am on Friday.

Anyone wanting to watch the lunar eclipse in the Sheridan area could have a difficult time, because the National Weather Service in Billings, Montana is forecasting mostly cloudy skies during the event.

Click here to view a computer simulation of the partial lunar eclipse.

The next visible lunar eclipse in the Sheridan area after this one will be a total eclipse on June 25th, 2029.