Moon calendar · eclipses
The lunar eclipse of August 17, 2027 the veiled full Moon of the Pacific.
On August 17, 2027, two weeks after the great total solar eclipse, the full Moon partly crosses Earth’s penumbra. The peak falls at 7:14 UTC, i.e. 9:14 in Paris: the Moon then hangs over the Pacific, and only the Americas and Oceania have it above the horizon. From Western Europe, it’s broad daylight, nothing is visible. The darkening stays too faint for the naked eye anyway. The Moon stands at 24° of Aquarius.
The essentials
- Date
- August 17, 2027
- Type
- penumbral lunar
- Peak
- 7:14 UTC, i.e. 9:14 in Paris
- Visibility
- the Pacific, the Americas, Oceania; effect imperceptible to the naked eye
- In Western Europe
- not visible (broad daylight, Moon set)
- Sign occupied
- Moon at 24° of Aquarius, Sun in Leo
What happens that day?
Eclipses come in seasons: when the new Moon has skirted perfect alignment, the full Moon that follows or precedes it attempts its own, in mirror image. After the spectacular total solar eclipse of August 2, the full Moon of August 17 in turn passes near the Sun-Earth axis, but not near enough: it crosses only the penumbra, that zone of half-light bordering Earth’s full shadow.
About a third of the lunar disc slides into it at the peak. That’s too little for the eye: the drop in light on the affected edge stays below the threshold human vision can detect. Camera sensors, on the other hand, see a faint gradient; night walkers, a full Moon like any other.
Where would it be visible?
The geometry places the Moon over the Pacific at the moment of the peak: Hawaii, Polynesia, New Zealand and the western Americas have it in their sky, in the dead of night or the early morning depending on the longitude. North America watches it tip toward the western horizon during the penumbral phase.
From Western Europe, at 9:14 in the morning, the Moon has set and the Sun is already high: no observation possible, and nothing to regret this time, the effect being elusive even where it’s visible. If you want a lunar rendezvous to note for later, the calendar holds better in store: the total eclipse of December 31, 2028 will rise, that one, in the sky of Western Europe.
What astrology reads into it
This full Moon stands at 24° of Aquarius, facing the Sun in Leo: on the lunar side, it answers the great solar eclipse that has just set Leo ablaze. Tradition reads pairs of eclipses as a dialogue: the solar one opens, the lunar one takes stock. Here, the stock-taking happens in Aquarius, the sign of the collective, of friendships, of causes larger than oneself.
Its discretion is part of the message you can choose to hear in it: not everything plays out in the dazzle. After the fire of Leo, Aquarius asks its question in a low voice: to what, to whom, do you connect what you’ve just begun? A question of the season, with no deadline and no omen.
And the next one?
The following eclipse season opens the year 2028: a partial lunar eclipse on January 12, visible from Western Europe in the early morning, then an annular solar eclipse on January 26, whose ring will end its run at sunset over the south-west of the Iberian Peninsula. The cycle then tips toward the Cancer-Capricorn axis.
Frequently asked questions
- Will the August 17, 2027 eclipse be visible from Western Europe?
- No: at the peak, at 9:14 Paris time, the Moon is below the horizon and it’s broad daylight. The phenomenon is reserved for the Pacific and the Americas, and it stays imperceptible to the naked eye there anyway.
- What’s the difference between a penumbral and a partial eclipse?
- In a partial eclipse, the Moon bites into Earth’s full shadow: a dark, sharp notch appears on the disc. In a penumbral one, it crosses only the zone of half-light surrounding that shadow: at best a gray veil, often nothing visible at all.