Nearly Full Blood Moon Over The Four States Thursday Night

The moon is about to do something a little dramatic over the Four States.

Late Thursday night, August 27, into early Friday morning, August 28, Joplin and the Four States area gets a nearly total lunar eclipse. Earth will slide between the sun and moon, covering about 93 percent of the moon in its shadow.

The partial eclipse starts at 9:33 Thursday night and hits its big moment at 11:12, when the moon should take on that eerie copper-red “blood moon” look. The partial phase wraps up at 12:51 Friday morning, although the faint shadow effect hangs around until 2:01.

No special glasses required—this isn’t the kind of eclipse that tries to fry your eyeballs. Just step outside, look east-southeast, and enjoy the free cosmic theater. Binoculars or a small telescope might make it even cooler, but honestly, the moon is doing most of the work here.

Here the Eclipse Timeline (Central Daylight Time)

8:23 pm — Penumbral eclipse starts (moon low in the east-southeast)

9:33 pm — Partial eclipse begins as the moon enters the umbra

11:12 pm — Maximum eclipse (peak red-copper glow)

12:51 am (Fri) — Partial eclipse ends 2:01 am (Fri) — Penumbral phase ends completely