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Get ready for a cavalcade of skywatching treats! We begin by hunting for a breathtaking star cluster in the constellation Taurus before turning our gaze to the ringed giant Saturn, which is now visible as a prime skywatching target in the late evening sky.
Then overnight on Aug. 27-28, a spectacular 96% partial lunar eclipse will darken the face of August's full Sturgeon Moon, serving as the final act of an incredible eclipse double-header, which kicked off with a spectacular total solar eclipse on Aug. 12.
To wrap things up, we'll scour the moon's northern hemisphere for the "Greater Black Lake" and watch for a dazzling rendezvous between Saturn and the waning moon.
We'll also have a live blog with all the latest lunar eclipse news and articles detailing what to expect from each stage and a discussion of where it will be visible from on Earth. And be sure to read about skywatching editor Daisy Dobrijevic and skywatching columnist Joe Rao's incredible experiences of witnessing totality during the Aug. 12 total solar eclipse from cruises off the coast of Greenland and Spain!
Now if you'll excuse me, I need to go and finish writing about my own eclipse experience.
Hasta luego and clear skies,
Anthony Wood
Skywatching Writer, Space.com
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| (Jules-Pierre Malartre/Starry Night) |
The early morning hours of Aug. 25 present a golden opportunity to catch the Hyades open star cluster glistening above the stars of Orion's Belt in the eastern sky. The "V" formation of stars is located about 150 light-years from Earth and represents the face of the great celestial bull in the constellation Taurus.
The dazzling orange-red star at one end of the grouping is Aldebaran, also known as the "Eye of the Bull". Despite appearances, it isn't actually part of the open cluster and instead shines just 65 light-years from our sun.
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| (Jules-Pierre Malartre/Starry Night) |
Having spent months as a morning object, Saturn now rises early enough to put on a late-evening show in the eastern sky! It'll appear as a beautiful star-like object to the naked eye, but a telescope will reveal its magnificent rings as they steadily open up to Earth in the coming months following their ring plane crossing in March 2025.
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| (Jules-Pierre Malartre/Starry Night) |
A mesmerizing partial lunar eclipse will see Earth's shadow cover 96% of the full "Sturgeon Moon" as it glides silently through the summer sky on Aug. 27-28. It'll be the deepest lunar eclipse until the total lunar eclipse on New Year's Eve 2028 and could see the moon turn a subtle crimson at the point of maximum eclipse as sunlight filtered and refracted by Earth's atmosphere falls onto its shadowed surface.
Viewers across much of the Americas will get to witness the vast majority of the eclipse, while those in Europe and Africa will see the eclipse crescendo in the early hours of Aug. 28, before watching its eclipsed disk slip below the western horizon.
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| (Jules-Pierre Malartre/Starry Night) |
Sweep your telescope across the northern shore of Mare Imbrium (the Sea of Showers) in the moon's northern hemisphere to find the 100-kilometer-wide expanse of the Plato impact crater creating a beautiful high-contrast target on the shadowless terrain.
The crater's modern name is derived from that of the great Greek philosopher Plato. However, the 17th-century astronomer Johannes Hevelius once dubbed it "The Greater Black Lake", in reference to its dark interior of basaltic rock, which formed after lava flooded the impact site in the distant past.
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| (Jules-Pierre Malartre/Starry Night) |
Look to the eastern horizon in the hour following sunset to catch a spectacular sight, as the near-full moon shines a little over 5 degrees above Saturn in the summer sky. As an added bonus, look out for the four stars of the "Great Square of Pegasus" shimmering in a square formation above, as lesser stars are lost in the deluge of moonlight.
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Here are our top picks on what to look for when using binoculars to explore the night sky.
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I understood the science and had seen thousands of eclipse photographs, but nothing prepared me for the emotion of watching totality unfold above the icebergs and fjords of East Greenland.
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Joe Rao took to sea aboard the cruise ship Le Boréal to watch the total solar eclipse on Aug. 12, 2026. Here's what it was like.
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Follow our live coverage as we count down to the best lunar eclipse until December 2028, with the latest news, viewing tips and live updates.
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Here's what to expect during the 5 key stages of the "almost Blood Moon" 96% partial lunar eclipse on Aug. 27-28.
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Here's where the 96% partial lunar eclipse will be visible from on Earth.
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