On August 27, a partial lunar eclipse will place 96.3% of the moon inside Earth's shadow, creating a deep red 'blood moon' visible across North and South America, plus parts of Europe and Africa. Unlike a solar eclipse, it's safe to photograph without special filters. To capture this event with an iPhone, use Live Photo mode, which records 1.5 seconds before and after the shutter press, letting you pick the sharpest frame.

Lower the exposure manually to prevent the bright moon from washing out, and brace the iPhone against a solid object to avoid blur. Choose the longest optical zoom available (up to 8x on iPhone 17 Pro) rather than digital zoom, which degrades image quality. With these settings, you can document the subtle color shift from gray to copper-red as the moon passes through Earth's umbra.