By Lookout Staff

August 20, 2026 -- Next week's Blood Moon lunar eclipse will be visible across North America, and the Santa Monica College (SMC) Planetarium will present a show Friday for stargazers to prepare.

Gearing up for the August 27 celestial event, Lecturer Sarah Vincent will present "Physics of Eclipses and Moon Phases," where she "takes a closer look at Earth’s largest natural satellite, and marvels at the fact that Earth is the only planet in the solar system whose moon perfectly blocks the Sun."

Tuesday night, "a deep partial lunar eclipse will be visible over North America, with about 96 percent of the full Moon's surface plunging into Earth's shadow," according to the BBC Sky at Night Magazine.

"This will give most of the Earth-facing side of the Moon a dramatic copper red or deep orange hue. And because it will cover nearly the whole of the lunar disc, it will be very nearly a Blood Moon lunar eclipse."

The website Telescope advisor touted the eclipse as "the year's biggest lunar event for North America — the Moon will appear deep orange-copper in color, with only a thin silver sliver of direct sunlight remaining along one limb of the lunar disc."

Unlike a solar eclipse, a lunar eclipse is completely safe to view with the naked eye, binoculars, or any telescope with no special filters required, the site noted.

"The partial phase, from first to last contact with Earth's umbral shadow, lasts 3 hours and 18 minutes, with the deepest, most dramatic portion centered on maximum eclipse."

Friday's planetarium show starts at 7 p.m. and is followed by a brief audience Q&A. Before the show, Vincent uses SMC’s 4K Digistar projection system to talk about the latest news in astronomy and space exploration and present a virtual tour of upcoming celestial events during The Night Sky Show a 6 p.m.

Tickets for The Night Sky Show are $10 for adults and $7 for children ages 3 through 12. Tickets for the feature program cost the same. Tickets for both shows are $16 for adults and $10 for children.

Tickets can be purchased at smc.edu/tickets (a $1 per ticket service fee will be charged by the ticketing company).

Free parking for planetarium shows is available on the SMC Main Campus. More information can be found online at smc.edu/planetarium or by calling 310-434-4163. All shows are subject to change or cancellation without notice.