Total lunar eclipse of June 26, 2029: the deepest and longest of the decade.

On the night of June 25 to 26, 2029 the full moon passes almost exactly through the center of Earth's shadow. Totality lasts 1 hour 42 minutes, from 02:31 to 04:13 UTC, with greatest eclipse at 03:22 UTC and an umbral magnitude of 1.844, the deepest of any lunar eclipse between 2020 and 2030. The Americas see the whole thing in the middle of the night; Europe and Africa see it before dawn as the Moon sets. No glasses, no travel: a clear sky and a view of the Moon are all it takes. This page gives the contact times, who sees what, and why this one is special.

Check tonight's moon

What time is the eclipse?

Times from the NASA Goddard eclipse catalog and EclipseWise, agreeing within about 20 seconds. Greatest eclipse at 03:22 UTC is 22:22 Central, 21:22 Mountain, 20:22 Pacific on June 25; 04:22 in the UK and 05:22 in Central Europe on June 26; 00:22 in Buenos Aires and Santiago.

Where is the eclipse visible?

Eastern North America, all of South America, and West Africa see the entire eclipse from penumbral start to finish with the Moon high in the sky. The central and western United States, Canada, and Mexico see the Moon rise on the evening of June 25 with the eclipse already under way; from the Pacific coast the Moon rises during totality, low in the southeast at dusk. Europe, most of Africa, and the Middle East see the eclipse in the pre-dawn hours of June 26 with the Moon sinking in the west, and for eastern Europe and the Middle East the Moon sets during totality. Asia and Australia miss it.

Why is this eclipse so deep and long?

Two numbers explain it. The gamma value, which measures how far the Moon's center passes from the center of Earth's shadow, is 0.012, essentially zero: the Moon goes straight through the middle of the umbra. That is why the umbral magnitude is 1.844, meaning the shadow's edge is almost a full lunar diameter beyond the Moon's far limb at mid eclipse, and it is why totality lasts 102 minutes. Both limbs are deep inside the shadow, so the disc should go a uniform dark red or brown rather than showing the bright orange edge of shallower eclipses, and it may be dark enough at mid totality to make the Moon hard to find with the naked eye from a bright city. A total lunar eclipse this central is rare; the last comparable one was July 27, 2018, at 1 hour 43 minutes.

What will it look like?

The partial phase begins at 01:32 UTC with a dark bite on the Moon's eastern edge that grows for an hour. Once totality begins the Moon is lit only by sunlight refracted through Earth's atmosphere, which strips out the blue and leaves red, the same physics as a sunset seen from the Moon all the way around Earth's edge. The exact shade depends on how much dust and volcanic aerosol the stratosphere holds that year, which cannot be known in advance. A clear stratosphere gives a bright copper Moon; a recent large eruption can turn it charcoal. With the Moon well inside the shadow for the whole 102 minutes, the stars come out around it as if it were new moon.

Which other eclipses happen in 2029?

2029 is a year of six eclipses. The total lunar eclipse of December 20 gives 54 minutes of totality to the Americas, Europe, Africa, and Asia. The four solar eclipses of 2029 are all partial, with January 14 over North America the only one most people will see. The previous total lunar eclipse was the New Year's Eve Blue Moon eclipse of December 31, 2028.

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Quick answers.

Explore more from Lumara.

• Total lunar eclipse of December 20, 2029
• Total lunar eclipse of December 31, 2028: a Blue Moon blood moon
• Solar eclipses 2029: four partials and no totality
• How far is the Moon today? Distance, perigee, and apogee