What can you expect to see during this month's three major celestial events PlayThere are three major events happening in the night sky above Massachusetts this month. Partial solar eclipse: Aug. 12A total solar eclipse will take place worldwide Wednesday afternoon. Near-full lunar eclipse: Aug. 27- 28Now it’s the moon’s time to shine. Light shines from a total lunar eclipse over Santa Monica Beach in Santa Monica, California, in 2021. The next (almost) total lunar eclipse will not happen again until the end of 2028.