This is the third of the three penumbral lunar eclipses of 2027, and the shading is slight. The Moon crosses the outer, lighter part of the Earth’s shadow and does not enter the dark core. A penumbral eclipse of this depth dims the Moon a little at the greatest moment, and many observers see nothing at all unless they compare photographs taken an hour apart.
Times and visibility
The Moon enters the faint shadow at 05:24 UT, is deepest at 07:13 UT, and leaves at 09:03 UT. NASA lists it as visible from the Pacific and the Americas, where the Moon is up in those hours. In New York the shading begins at 01:24 on the morning of 17 August, is deepest at 03:13 and ends at 05:03. In Los Angeles it begins at 22:24 on the 16th and ends at 02:03. In Sydney the Moon rises at 17:22 with the eclipse already well under way, but it is past its greatest by then. For Europe and Africa the Moon is below the horizon, and so it is for Asia, including India, where the time is in the middle of the day and the Moon is far below the horizon.
Not seen from India
At the greatest eclipse the time in India is about 12:43 in the afternoon, and the Moon is below the horizon from every Indian city. It is therefore not visible there, and in any case a penumbral eclipse is not counted as a grahan, so there is no sutak, no closing of temples and no change to the day. The date is Raksha Bandhan, the full moon of Shravana, and the Rakhi timings on the Raksha Bandhan page stand as given.
In the Hindu calendar
The Moon at the greatest eclipse is in Makara, the sidereal Capricorn, at 29.8 degrees, which is within a fifth of a degree of the boundary with Kumbha, in the second pada of Dhanishta nakshatra. The Sun is opposite, in Karka. These are Lahiri positions, worked out to within a few hundredths of a degree. The Moon is close enough to the boundary that an almanac using a different ayanamsa would place it in Kumbha. The ordinary full moon observances, with the timings for your city, are on the Purnima page.
For people who do see it
If you are in the Americas and want to watch, step outside a little before the greatest eclipse and let your eyes adjust. Compare the Moon’s two sides and take two photographs with the same settings, one before the eclipse and one at the greatest, to see the difference. It is safe to look at with the naked eye.
Seen from 25 of the 49 cities (20 for the whole eclipse, 5 for part of it). All times are local to each city and cut to the whole minute. For any other place use the eclipse visibility calculator.
How the lunar eclipse times are worked out
The time of greatest eclipse, the magnitude and the lengths of the penumbral, partial and total phases are taken from NASA's catalogue of lunar eclipses (Fred Espenak, eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov, public domain). A lunar eclipse starts and ends at the same instant for everybody on the night side of the Earth, so what changes between cities is the clock time and whether the Moon is above the horizon. This site works out the Moon's height for each city at each stage, and the table gives the first and last moment you can see the eclipse.
Times are the local clock time of the city, with daylight saving where it applies, cut to the whole minute. For eclipses with a dark umbral stage the table lists that stage, when the Moon enters the dark core of the Earth's shadow, because the traditional rules count it. The faint penumbral stage is the one listed only for eclipses that have no umbral stage.
Sutak. By Hindu tradition the period of caution before a lunar eclipse, sutak, begins nine hours before the eclipse and ends when it ends. This page counts it from the first umbral contact, and only for a city where the eclipse can be seen. A penumbral eclipse is not counted as a grahan in most almanacs and has no sutak. Families follow their own rules for what is avoided during sutak, so follow your own family or temple. Children, the elderly and the unwell are generally excused from fasting.
Frequently asked questions
↳ Is the 17 August 2027 lunar eclipse visible in India?
No. It takes place around midday in India, with the Moon far below the horizon. It is not visible from any Indian city, and as a penumbral eclipse it is not counted as a grahan in any case.
↳ Is there sutak on Raksha Bandhan 2027?
No. A penumbral eclipse carries no sutak, and this one is not seen from India. Raksha Bandhan is kept as usual, and the Rakhi time is the one given on the festival page.
↳ How faint is the shading?
The penumbral magnitude is 0.546, which is lower than the eclipse of 20 February 2027, whose magnitude is 0.927. The Moon dims a little and stays its normal colour, and the change is mostly picked up by cameras.
↳ Which cities see it best?
Cities in the Americas, where the Moon is high at the greatest eclipse in the small hours. The table shows the local times for each city, and the calculator gives them for any town.