ANSA NEWS!
Arkansas Natural Sky Association
ANSA is a membership-based 501(c)3 non-profit & the Arkansas chapter of DarkSky International.
Partial Lunar Eclipse - August 27-28, 2026
A deep partial lunar eclipse will be visible across Arkansas next Thursday night, with about 94% of the moon entering Earth's dark shadow at maximum eclipse.
Arkansas / Central Time:
• Penumbral eclipse begins: 8:23 PM
• Partial eclipse begins: 10:12 PM
• Maximum eclipse: 11:12 PM
• Partial eclipse ends: 12:13 AM
• Penumbral eclipse ends: 2:01 AM
Unlike a total lunar eclipse, a small portion of the Moon will remain outside Earth’s umbral shadow, but at maximum it should appear very close to a total eclipse.
Resources:
www.timeanddate.com/eclipse/lunar/2026-august-28
www.space.com/stargazing/lunar-eclipses/a-96-percent-partial-lunar-eclipse-is-just-1-week-away-he...
A 96% partial lunar eclipse is just 1 week away: Here's what you need to know
www.space.com
Earth's curved inner shadow will darken the moon's disk during the Aug. 27-28 partial lunar eclipse.
Summer Milky Way Public Star Party
The Central Arkansas Astronomical Society (CAAS), in collaboration with the Arkansas Natural Sky Association, will host a public star party under the Summer Milky Way at Lakeview West, the state’s first Responsible Outdoor Lighting residential development, on either September 4th or 5th, depending on the weather.
Lakeview West is located Northwest of Lake Maumelle, just off Highway 113 in Pulaski County. Due to the lake, extensive timber holdings, and the Ouachita National Forest to its west, Lakeview West has an unusual night sky for a contemporary residential development.
The event will begin at 8:30 at the outdoor basketball courts. Expect constellation tours, the Summer Milky Way, and telescopic views of distant celestial objects. Binoculars are also encouraged.
💡The small Massachusetts north shore community of Rockport recently rejected an offer of free LED lighting to replace older infrastructure. Residents there worried that the new, brighter lights would harm fireflies and other wildlife, which depend on dark skies for survival.
🎙️ Host Robin Young talks to Cape Ann Climate Coalition members Lisa Smith and Clay Kern, and Harvard University research fellow Avalon Owens, who studies the impact of light pollution on fireflies at the Owens Lab at Harvard University's Rowland Institute.
👂 This segment aired on July 30, 2026 - listen to the Here & Now segment at the link below!
A Massachusetts town rejected free lighting offer in order to protect fireflies. Why do they matter?
www.wbur.org
Rockport, Massachusetts, residents worried that the new, brighter lights would harm fireflies and other wildlife, which depend on dark skies for survival.