A total lunar eclipse will occur at the Moon’s descending node of orbit on Tuesday, March 3, 2026,[1] with an umbral magnitude of 1.1526. A lunar eclipse occurs when the Moon moves into the Earth's shadow, causing the Moon to be darkened. A total lunar eclipse occurs when the Moon's near side entirely passes into the Earth's umbral shadow. Unlike a solar eclipse, which can only be viewed from a relatively small area of the world, a lunar eclipse may be viewed from anywhere on the night side of Earth. A total lunar eclipse can last up to nearly two hours, while a total solar eclipse lasts only a few minutes at any given place, because the Moon's shadow is smaller. The Moon's apparent diameter will be near the average diameter because it will occur 6.7 days after perigee (on February 24, 2026, at 18:15 UTC) and 6.9 days before apogee (on March 10, 2026, at 9:45 UTC).[2]
| Total eclipse | |||||||||||||||||
 The Moon's hourly motion shown right to left | |||||||||||||||||
| Date | March 3, 2026 | ||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gamma | −0.3765 | ||||||||||||||||
| Magnitude | 1.1526 | ||||||||||||||||
| Saros cycle | 133 (27 of 71) | ||||||||||||||||
| Totality | 58 minutes, 19 seconds | ||||||||||||||||
| Partiality | 207 minutes, 10 seconds | ||||||||||||||||
| Penumbral | 338 minutes, 37 seconds | ||||||||||||||||
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This lunar eclipse will be the third of an almost tetrad, with the others being on March 14, 2025 (total); September 8, 2025 (total); and August 28, 2026 (partial).
Visibility
editThe eclipse will be completely visible over northeast Asia, northwestern North America, and the central Pacific Ocean, seen rising over much of Asia and Australia and setting over North and South America.[3]
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Eclipse details
editShown below is a table displaying details about this particular solar eclipse. It describes various parameters pertaining to this eclipse.[4]
| Parameter | Value |
|---|---|
| Penumbral Magnitude | 2.18580 |
| Umbral Magnitude | 1.15263 |
| Gamma | −0.37651 |
| Sun Right Ascension | 22h56m56.0s |
| Sun Declination | -06°43'06.4" |
| Sun Semi-Diameter | 16'08.0" |
| Sun Equatorial Horizontal Parallax | 08.9" |
| Moon Right Ascension | 10h56m15.0s |
| Moon Declination | +06°24'05.3" |
| Moon Semi-Diameter | 15'37.0" |
| Moon Equatorial Horizontal Parallax | 0°57'18.7" |
| ΔT | 72.1 s |
Eclipse season
editThis eclipse is part of an eclipse season, a period, roughly every six months, when eclipses occur. Only two (or occasionally three) eclipse seasons occur each year, and each season lasts about 35 days and repeats just short of six months (173 days) later; thus two full eclipse seasons always occur each year. Either two or three eclipses happen each eclipse season. In the sequence below, each eclipse is separated by a fortnight.
| February 17 Ascending node (new moon) |
March 3 Descending node (full moon) |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Annular solar eclipse Solar Saros 121 |
Total lunar eclipse Lunar Saros 133 |
Related eclipses
editEclipses in 2026
edit- An annular solar eclipse on February 17.
- A total lunar eclipse on March 3.
- A total solar eclipse on August 12.
- A partial lunar eclipse on August 28.
Metonic
edit- Preceded by: Lunar eclipse of May 16, 2022
- Followed by: Lunar eclipse of December 20, 2029
Tzolkinex
edit- Preceded by: Lunar eclipse of January 21, 2019
- Followed by: Lunar eclipse of April 14, 2033
Half-Saros
edit- Preceded by: Solar eclipse of February 26, 2017
- Followed by: Solar eclipse of March 9, 2035
Tritos
edit- Preceded by: Lunar eclipse of April 4, 2015
- Followed by: Lunar eclipse of January 31, 2037
Lunar Saros 133
edit- Preceded by: Lunar eclipse of February 21, 2008
- Followed by: Lunar eclipse of March 13, 2044
Inex
edit- Preceded by: Lunar eclipse of March 24, 1997
- Followed by: Lunar eclipse of February 11, 2055
Triad
edit- Preceded by: Lunar eclipse of May 3, 1939
- Followed by: Lunar eclipse of January 2, 2113
Lunar eclipses of 2024–2027
edit| Lunar eclipse series sets from 2024–2027 | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Descending node | Ascending node | |||||||
| Saros | Date | Type Viewing |
Gamma | Saros | Date Viewing |
Type Chart |
Gamma | |
113
|
2024 Mar 25
|
Penumbral
|
1.06098 | 118
|
2024 Sep 18
|
Partial
|
−0.97920 | |
| 123 | 2025 Mar 14
|
Total
|
0.34846 | 128 | 2025 Sep 07
|
Total
|
−0.27521 | |
| 133 | 2026 Mar 03
|
Total
|
−0.37651 | 138 | 2026 Aug 28
|
Partial
|
0.49644 | |
| 143 | 2027 Feb 20
|
Penumbral
|
−1.04803 | 148 | 2027 Aug 17
|
Penumbral
|
1.27974 | |
| Last set | 2023 May 05 | Last set | 2023 Oct 28 | |||||
| Next set | 2028 Jan 12 | Next set | 2027 Jul 18 | |||||
Saros 133
editThis lunar eclipse is part of series 133 of the Saros cycle, which repeats every 18 years and 11 days. Series 133 runs from the year 1557 until 2819. The previous eclipse of this series occurred on 21 February 2008 and the next will occur on 13 March 2044.
It is the 7th of 21 total lunar eclipses in series 133. The first was on 28 December 1917. The last (21st) will be on 3 August 2278. The longest two occurrences of this series (14th and 15th) will last for a total of 1 hour and 42 minutes on 18 May 2152 and 30 May 2170. Solar saros 140 interleaves with this lunar saros with an event occurring every 9 years 5 days alternating between each saros series.
Metonic series
editThe Metonic cycle repeats nearly exactly every 19 years and represents a Saros cycle plus one lunar year. Because it occurs on the same calendar date, the Earth's shadow will be in nearly the same location relative to the background stars.
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Inex series
editThe inex series repeats eclipses 20 days short of 29 years, repeating on average every 10571.95 days. This period is equal to 358 lunations (synodic months) and 388.5 draconic months. Saros series increment by one on successive Inex events and repeat at alternate ascending and descending lunar nodes.
This period is 383.6734 anomalistic months (the period of the Moon's elliptical orbital precession). Despite the average 0.05 time-of-day shift between subsequent events, the variation of the Moon in its elliptical orbit at each event causes the actual eclipse time to vary significantly. It is a part of Lunar Inex series 35.
| Descending node | Ascending node | Descending node | Ascending node | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saros | Date Chart |
Saros | Date Chart |
Saros | Date Chart |
Saros | Date Chart |
| 115 | 1505 Feb 18
|
116 | 1534 Jan 30
|
117 | 1563 Jan 9 | 118 | 1591 Dec 30 |
| 119 | 1620 Dec 9 | 120 | 1649 Nov 19 | 121 | 1678 Oct 29 | 122 | 1707 Oct 11 |
| 123 | 1736 Sep 20 | 124 | 1765 Aug 30 | 125 | 1794 Aug 11 | 126 | 1823 Jul 23 |
| 127 | 1852 Jul 1 | 128 | 1881 Jun 12 | 129 | 1910 May 24
|
130 | 1939 May 3
|
| 131 | 1968 Apr 13
|
132 | 1997 Mar 24
|
133 | 2026 Mar 3
|
134 | 2055 Feb 11
|
| 135 | 2084 Jan 22
|
136 | 2113 Jan 2 | 137 | 2141 Dec 13 | 138 | 2170 Nov 23 |
| 139 | 2199 Nov 2 | 140 | 2228 Oct 14 | 141 | 2257 Sep 24 | 142 | 2286 Sep 3 |
| 143 | 2315 Aug 16 | 144 | 2344 Jul 26 | 145 | 2373 Jul 5 | 146 | 2402 Jun 16 |
| 147 | 2431 May 27 | 148 | 2460 May 5
|
149 | 2489 Apr 16
| ||
Half-Saros cycle
editA lunar eclipse will be preceded and followed by solar eclipses by 9 years and 5.5 days (a half saros).[5] This lunar eclipse is related to two annular solar eclipses of Solar Saros 140.
| February 26, 2017 | March 9, 2035 |
|---|---|
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See also
editReferences
edit- ^ "March 2–3, 2026 Total Lunar Eclipse (Blood Moon)". timeanddate. Retrieved 19 November 2024.
- ^ "Moon Distances for London, United Kingdom, England". timeanddate. Retrieved 19 November 2024.
- ^ "Total Lunar Eclipse of 2026 Mar 03" (PDF). NASA. Retrieved 19 November 2024.
- ^ "Total Lunar Eclipse of 2026 Mar 03". EclipseWise.com. Retrieved 19 November 2024.
- ^ Mathematical Astronomy Morsels, Jean Meeus, p.110, Chapter 18, The half-saros
External links
edit- Saros cycle 133
- 2026 Mar 03 chart: Eclipse Predictions by Fred Espenak, NASA/GSFC
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