{"id":827059,"date":"2026-08-27T01:54:08","date_gmt":"2026-08-27T01:54:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/827059\/"},"modified":"2026-08-27T01:54:08","modified_gmt":"2026-08-27T01:54:08","slug":"how-to-best-experience-and-photograph-wyomings-96-lunar-eclipse-on-thursday","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/827059\/","title":{"rendered":"How To Best Experience And Photograph Wyoming’s 96% Lunar Eclipse On Thursday"},"content":{"rendered":"

A 96.2% full lunar eclipse <\/a>will be visible over Wyoming on Thursday night, and most people will get to see the best of it before bedtime.<\/p>\n

When the Earth\u2019s shadow covers the moon, it will appear mostly covered in blood-red light, except for a slim sliver of light at the top corner.<\/p>\n

Provided it isn’t too cloudy, this lunar eclipse should be one of the best over Wyoming in a while.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cIf we have to have a partial eclipse, this is the kind I’d like to see,\u201d said Jan Curtis, retired meteorologist, climatologist, and former Wyoming State climatologist.<\/p>\n

When?<\/p>\n

Lunar eclipses have multiple phases. For Wyomingites, Thursday\u2019s will start more than 30 minutes before the moon rises at 7:52 p.m.<\/p>\n

When the moon rises, a portion will already be covered by the Earth\u2019s shadow.<\/p>\n

By 8:33 p.m., the moon will be 50% covered. That\u2019s the beginning of the partial-eclipse phase.<\/p>\n

The eclipse will reach its climax at 10:12 p.m. over Wyoming. By then, nearly the entire moon will be covered.<\/p>\n

Even if it isn\u2019t a total eclipse, the moon should still appear blood-red to anyone who can see it.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat we\u2019ll see is a reddish moon with a slight sliver of silver at the edge,\u201d Curtis said.<\/p>\n

Where In Wyoming?<\/p>\n

When the eclipse reaches its maximum, the moon will be in the southeast sky, well above the horizon near the constellation of Aquarius.<\/p>\n

Because lunar eclipses only occur during a full moon, the moon shouldn\u2019t be hard to spot across Wyoming. Still, it\u2019s always best to observe celestial events from the darkest spot possible.<\/p>\n

For anyone who wants to get photos of the eclipse, Pinedale photographer Dave Bell said lunar eclipses are \u201ca piece of cake.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a little like watching grass grow, but watching the whole thing unfold is a great experience,\u201d Bell told Cowboy State Daily.\u00a0<\/p>\n

It doesn\u2019t take an expert to see and get great photographs of a total lunar eclipse. All that\u2019s needed is timing and clear skies, he said.<\/p>\n

“It\u2019s an easy shot, from a camera perspective, because it happens slowly. You have time to think about what you want to do on the fly, but you can still look at it and not worry about hurting your eyeballs,\u201d Bell said.<\/p>\n

Bell recommended a mirrorless camera lens with a wider aperture and a slower shutter speed to capture the most lunar detail during the lunar eclipse. Smartphones have limitations in aperture and shutter speed, but settings can be tweaked to get the most out of the technology.<\/p>\n

Tripods, meanwhile, are a no-brainer.<\/p>\n

What About The Weather?<\/p>\n

The only variable that can\u2019t be accounted for is the weather. The eclipse might be spectacular from Wyoming, but it won\u2019t matter if it\u2019s overcast.<\/p>\n

\u201cI hope it\u2019s not cloudy,\u201d Bell said. \u201cI\u2019m very hopeful it won\u2019t be, but you don\u2019t know what the weather\u2019s gonna do.\u201d<\/p>\n

As far as weather goes, Cowboy State Daily meteorologist Don Day said Thursday night will be \u201ca mixed bag.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThere will be clouds, most likely in the southwest and north-central counties, but some clear spots and scattered clouds elsewhere,\u201d he said. \u201cNot perfect, but many should be able to see it.\u201d<\/p>\n

What If I Miss It?<\/p>\n

Unlike total solar eclipses, which require conditions so precise there won\u2019t be another anywhere over Wyoming until July 3, 2084<\/a>, total lunar eclipses occur much more frequently.<\/p>\n

Max Gilbraith, planetarium coordinator for the University of Wyoming, said anyone who can\u2019t see Thursday night\u2019s eclipse should have plenty of opportunities to see others.<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u201cLunar eclipses happen every year and a half or so,\u201d he said in March 2025<\/a>. \u201cThe moon has to be opposite the sun to get into the Earth\u2019s shadow, and there are many opportunities for that to happen in a calendar year.\u201d<\/p>\n

The next lunar eclipse should be visible over Wyoming on Feb.\u00a020, 2027. However, that will be a penumbral eclipse, where the moon passes through the lightest part of Earth\u2019s shadow. It will be barely noticeable from the Earth\u2019s surface.<\/p>\n

For Curtis, this eclipse is as good as a lunar eclipse can get, unless it\u2019s total.<\/p>\n

\u201cPartial eclipses are usually only 20% or 50%, but this is over 96%,\u201d he said. \u201cThat makes this one unusual and spectacular. The prime time for this eclipse will be between 10 and 11 p.m., so with clear weather, it\u2019ll be quite a show before everybody goes to bed.”<\/p>\n

Andrew Rossi can be reached at arossi@cowboystatedaily.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A 96.2% full lunar eclipse will be visible over Wyoming on Thursday night, and most people will get…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":827060,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[56],"tags":[228,226,227,229,88],"class_list":["post-827059","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-arts-and-design","tag-arts","tag-arts-and-design","tag-artsanddesign","tag-design","tag-entertainment"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/827059","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=827059"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/827059\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/827060"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=827059"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=827059"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=827059"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}