# Full Moon August 2027: Penumbral Eclipse in Aquarius > The full moon in August 2027 is on Tuesday, August 17, at 3:29 a.m. EDT (07:29 UTC) in Aquarius. It is the Sturgeon Moon and a penumbral lunar eclipse. - Page: https://novaoracles.com/blog/full-moon-august - Language: en - Published: 2026-10-20 - Updated: 2026-10-24 The full moon in August 2027 is exact on Tuesday, August 17, at 3:29 a.m. EDT (07:29 UTC), with the Moon in Aquarius and the Sun in Leo. It coincides with a penumbral lunar eclipse, and the greatest point comes 16 minutes before the full moon, at 3:13 a.m. EDT. For a local check, the [lunar calendar](https://novaoracles.com/tools/lunar-calendar) gives the eclipse window for your own town. | Detail | August 2027 full moon | | --- | --- | | Date | Tuesday, August 17, 2027 (night of Monday, August 16 on the West Coast) | | Full moon, US Eastern | 3:29 a.m. EDT | | Full moon, UTC | 07:29 UTC | | Greatest eclipse | 3:13 a.m. EDT, 07:13 UTC | | Moon sign | Aquarius, about 24 degrees | | Sun opposite | Leo | | Eclipse | penumbral lunar eclipse | | Traditional name | Sturgeon Moon | | Previous new moon | August 2, 6:05 a.m. EDT, total solar eclipse in Leo | | Next new moon | August 31, 1:41 p.m. EDT, in Virgo | | Next full moon | [September 15 in Pisces](https://novaoracles.com/blog/full-moon-september) | | All 2027 full moons | [Full moon 2027 calendar](https://novaoracles.com/blog/full-moon-2027) | Times are computed by our ephemeris engine; [how we calculate](https://novaoracles.com/accuracy). ## What happens at the August 2027 lunar eclipse? The August 2027 lunar [eclipse](https://novaoracles.com/glossary/eclipse) is penumbral, so the Moon passes only through the pale outer part of Earth's shadow. The full moon falls close to a [lunar node](https://novaoracles.com/glossary/lunar-node), one of the two points where the Moon's tilted orbit crosses the Sun's path. That shadow has a dark core, the umbra, and a pale outer ring, the penumbra. On August 17 the Moon enters only the penumbra. By the site's eclipse calculation about 57 percent of its diameter sits in the outer shadow at the peak, and the umbra stays well clear, so the Moon never goes red. What you see, if anything, is a faint gray dusk across the part of the disk nearest the umbra. In Eastern time the outer shadow first touches the Moon at 1:21 a.m. on August 17, the greatest eclipse comes at 3:13 a.m., and the shadow leaves at 5:06 a.m. The whole event lasts a little under four hours. New York and Los Angeles both have the Moon above the horizon for all of it, which in Pacific time runs from 10:21 p.m. on August 16 to 2:06 a.m. on August 17. Europe and Turkey miss it, since the Moon is below the horizon there. Penumbral shading is easiest to notice near the peak. ## Why is August's full moon the Sturgeon Moon? In the North American almanac list the August full moon is the Sturgeon Moon, a name usually linked to the large fish once caught in the Great Lakes in late summer. The name is folklore. The eclipse in 2027 does not change it, and some lists call a darkened Moon a blood moon, which strictly belongs to a total eclipse only. ## The sky facts and the astrological layer The astronomy: the full moon stands at about 24 degrees of Aquarius in the tropical zodiac, opposite the Sun in Leo. Two weeks earlier, on August 2 at 6:05 a.m. EDT, the new moon in Leo is a total solar eclipse, with its greatest point at 25.5 degrees north and 33.2 degrees east. Neither New York nor Los Angeles sees any of it. Saturn has been retrograde in Aries since August 9, Neptune since July 9 and Pluto in Aquarius since May 8, so three slow outer planets are going backward at once. The astrological reading treats eclipses as a stronger kind of [full moon](https://novaoracles.com/glossary/full-moon), though a penumbral one is read as the gentlest. Aquarius is the sign of friends, communities, ideas and the freedom to be different, and Leo, holding the Sun, the sign of the heart, creativity and being seen. This axis is traditionally read as a question of how much of yourself to show and how much to give to a group or a cause. With the solar eclipse two weeks earlier, the tradition treats the pair as one stretch of change, not two separate events. [Why eclipses matter](https://novaoracles.com/blog/why-eclipses-matter) goes deeper into how astrologers read them. ## Where does the eclipse fall in your chart? The August 2027 full moon stands at about 24 degrees of Aquarius. Look at your [birth chart](https://novaoracles.com/tools/birth-chart) for planets near 24 degrees of Aquarius or Leo, or of Taurus or Scorpio. Those placements get the closest contact. The house holding late Aquarius shows which part of life the eclipse stirs, and late Leo shows what you are asked to carry on with in the meantime. ## Last year's August full moon The August 2026 full moon was a partial lunar eclipse, exact on Friday, August 28, 2026, at 12:19 a.m. EDT (04:19 UTC), with the Moon in Pisces. The [full moon 2026 calendar](https://novaoracles.com/blog/full-moon-2026) has its details. ## Before and after The previous full moon is the [July 2027 full moon](https://novaoracles.com/blog/full-moon-july), a faint penumbral eclipse in Capricorn on July 18. The next is the [September 2027 full moon](https://novaoracles.com/blog/full-moon-september) in Pisces, the Harvest Moon, after the new moon of August 31 in Virgo at 1:41 p.m. EDT. For every full moon and all five eclipses of 2027 in one place, see the [full moon 2027 calendar](https://novaoracles.com/blog/full-moon-2027) and the [moon and eclipses guide](https://novaoracles.com/guides/moon-and-eclipses). The [lunar calendar](https://novaoracles.com/tools/lunar-calendar) gives eclipse dates and full moon times for your own location. ## FAQ ### When is the full moon in August 2027? The August 2027 full moon is exact on Tuesday, August 17, at 3:29 a.m. EDT, 07:29 UTC. On the West Coast it is still the night of Monday, August 16, at 12:29 a.m. PDT on the 17th. The greatest eclipse comes 16 minutes earlier, at 3:13 a.m. EDT. ### Is the August 2027 lunar eclipse a blood moon? No. The August 2027 lunar eclipse is penumbral, so the Moon passes only through the pale outer part of Earth's shadow. About 57 percent of its diameter lies in that outer shadow at the peak, which gives a subtle gray shading on one side. A blood moon needs a total lunar eclipse, and 2027 has none. ### Can you see the August 2027 lunar eclipse from the US? Yes. The August 2027 eclipse can be seen from the US, since by our calculation the Moon is above the horizon in New York and in Los Angeles for the whole event, from about 1:21 a.m. to 5:06 a.m. EDT. In Europe and Turkey the Moon is below the horizon.