Nearly total lunar eclipse visible from Fond du Lac County Thursday night

Skywatchers across Fond du Lac and the rest of Wisconsin have something special to look for in the night sky tonight, Thursday, August 27, 2026.

A nearly total lunar eclipse will unfold late tonight, as the full August Sturgeon Moon passes through the Earth’s shadow.

Here in Fond du Lac, the eclipse starts at about 10:12 p.m. The eclipse will reach its peak at roughly 11:12 p.m., when about 96% of the Moon will be covered by Earth’s shadow.

That should leave just a small sliver of the Moon illuminated, while most of the moon’s surface takes on a dark orange or reddish color — giving it the familiar “blood moon” appearance.

This occurs as particles like moisture and dust in our atmosphere scatter high-energy, short wavelengths of light (like blue and violet), bending that light past the moon, while lower-energy, long wavelengths (like red and orange) bends—or refracts—inward around Earth and projects onto the Moon, giving it the famous “blood moon” glow.

Eclipse gazers need no special equipment to watch it. Unlike a solar eclipse, a lunar eclipse is completely safe to view with your eyes. Binoculars or a telescope can make the sight even more impressive.

Also unlike solar eclipses, A lunar eclipse occurs slowly. The best time to take a look will be between roughly 10:30 and 11:30 tonight, with the deepest part of the eclipse occurring shortly after 11 p.m..

It’s advised to take peaks at the eclipse in intervals of around 10 to 15 minutes to see noticeable changes in the movement of earths shadow across the moon.

Lunar eclipses take place in a given location every couple years with the next total eclipse visible in Fond du Lac taking place June 26, 2029.