What Kenyans need to know about the partial lunar eclipse, time and how to view

A partial lunar eclipse will be visible over Kenya in the early hours of Friday, August 28, 2026, giving sky watchers an opportunity to observe the moon pass into the shadow cast by Earth.

The Kenya Space Agency (KSA) on August 27 said the eclipse will begin at approximately 4:23 am East Africa Time, with the partial phase starting at about 5:33 am.

However, observers in Kenya will not see the entire event because the moon will set at around 6:30am as the Sun rises.

This means that while the eclipse will continue beyond that time elsewhere, the later stages will not be visible from Kenya.

The event occurs as the sun, earth and moon align in space, with earth moving between the sun and a full moon. In that position, earth blocks some of the sunlight that would ordinarily illuminate the moon.

A lunar eclipse differs from a solar eclipse because the shadow is being cast onto the moon rather than onto earth.

During a partial lunar eclipse, only part of the moon moves into earth's darkest central shadow, known as the umbra.

The remainder remains outside the umbra, although it can pass through the lighter outer shadow, known as the penumbra.

The August eclipse is particularly deep. NASA estimates that at the moment of greatest eclipse, about 96.3 per cent of the moon's disk will be within earth's umbra.

Despite that extensive coverage, it remains a partial rather than a total lunar eclipse because a small portion of the lunar disk remains outside the umbra.

The greatest eclipse occurs at about 4:13 am Universal Time, or 7:13 am East Africa Time. That peak, however, will not be visible from Kenya because the moon will already have set.

For observers in Kenya, the most relevant window is therefore the period before approximately 6:30 am, when the moon remains above the western horizon.

A deep partial lunar eclipse can produce the same striking reddish or coppery appearance associated with a so-called blood moon, particularly across the portion of the lunar surface inside Earth's umbra.

The colour comes from Earth's atmosphere. Although earth blocks direct sunlight from reaching the eclipsed part of the moon, some sunlight passes through the atmosphere around the edges of the planet.

The atmosphere scatters shorter blue wavelengths more strongly, while red wavelengths are able to pass through and be refracted towards the moon.

NASA describes the effect as being similar to having the world's sunrises and sunsets projected onto the lunar surface.

How strongly the red or copper colour appears can therefore depend on atmospheric conditions as well as the depth of the eclipse.

The term "blood moon" is generally used for a total lunar eclipse, when the entire lunar disk enters the umbra.

The Kenya Space Agency recommends finding a clear, unobstructed view towards the western sky

Because the moon will be relatively low on the western horizon before it sets, buildings, trees, hills and other obstructions could affect visibility.

Unlike a solar eclipse, there is no danger from looking directly at an eclipsed moon.

"No special glasses are needed to observe a lunar eclipse. Find a clear, unobstructed view towards the western sky and enjoy the celestial show," KSA said.

The August eclipse is part of a repeating astronomical pattern known as Saros 138. Eclipses belonging to the same Saros series occur roughly 18 years, 11 days and eight hours apart.

NASA records the previous eclipse in this series as having occurred on August 16, 2008, while the next is expected on September 7, 2044.

The August event is also part of a busy period for eclipse watchers. It follows the total solar eclipse of August 12, 2026, and precedes several eclipses in 2027, including an annular solar eclipse in February and a penumbral lunar eclipse later that month.

Another major event will occur on August 2, 2027, when a total solar eclipse will cross parts of Spain and North Africa.