Partial lunar eclipse visible across the Americas on Thursday night

A deep partial lunar eclipse will occur on Thursday night, with about 96% of the Moon’s surface entering Earth’s shadow. The event will be visible across the Americas, as well as parts of Europe, Africa and the Middle East, provided weather conditions allow clear skies. The partial phase will last more than three hours, while the entire eclipse—from the Moon’s entry into the penumbral shadow to its exit—will span roughly 5½ hours, reaching its maximum just after midnight Eastern Daylight Time.

NASA astronaut Jack Hathaway, speaking from the International Space Station, said the timing coincides with ongoing lunar exploration efforts. > "This is a great time to be part of the space program, right? We’re not slowing down," he told the Associated Press.

The space station commander Jessica Meir noted that astronauts aboard the ISS and China’s Tiangong space station will also have a unique perspective on the eclipse.

The eclipse follows a total solar eclipse that occurred two weeks earlier over Greenland, Iceland and Spain. It is the second of two lunar eclipses this year, the first having taken place in March. The next total lunar eclipse will not occur until New Year’s Eve 2028, with the following one visible from the Americas slated for 2029.