Next Lunar Eclipse

Overview

A lunar eclipse occurs when the Earth casts a shadow anywhere onto the moon. It is a fairly rare event that always occurs during a Full Moon.

When the moon is completely covered by Earth's shadow (also known as the Umbra), it is called a Total Lunar Eclipse. When the moon only partially intersects the Umbra, it is called a Partial Lunar Eclipse. When the Earth only covers a part of the sun's disk from the perspective of the moon, it is called a Penumbral Lunar Eclipse.

This entry also displays the node at which the eclipse took place as well as the hemisphere of Earth that it is above at its maximum.

Lunar eclipses typically are viewable from a large area on the Earth's surface, and they are historically significant events that have inspired legend, religion, and myth.

Info

Lunar eclipses happen two to four times per year. Penumbral eclipses typically aren't noticeable from Earth, as the lunar surface is still quite bright. The moon must enter deep within the Penumbra or into the Umbra before it is able to be noticed with the naked eye. While in the Umbra, the moon's surface often takes on a reddish color due to light scattering through the Earth's atmosphere (similar to a sunset), being described as a 'blood moon' in historical literature.

Accuracy

This calculation is reasonably accurate (to within seconds or minutes) for thousands of years before and after the year 2000 CE. Outside of that, errors are induced which can grow from hours to even days.

This calculation relies on the New Moon calculation as well as Terrestrial Time, each of which have potential to induce these errors.

Source

This calculation in its entirety was sourced from Astronomical Algorithms (1991) by Jean Meeus.

This cycle can be calibrated using the ephemerides at this website.