Feb 21, 2008 Total Lunar Eclipse
What this lunar eclipse looks like
The animation shows approximately what the eclipse looks like from the night side of earth.
BETA: This is a temporary animation, it would look different in real life. We hope to fix that issue soon.
Stages in eclipse
- Penumbral Eclipse just started
- Penumbral Eclipse in good progress
- Partial Eclipse starts
- Total Eclipse starts
- Maximum Eclipse
- Total Eclipse ends
- Full Eclipse ends
- Penumbral Eclipse continues
- Penumbral Eclipse about to end
Click the 'play' button to view the animation. The pause button can also be used to temporarily suspend the animation.
The animation shows where this penumbral solar eclipse is visible during the night (dark “wave” slowly moving across the Earth's surface).
The night (dark) areas in the animation are approximately those that can see the moon, and therefore also the eclipse.
Legend
Intense red shading: Observers within this area can see the eclipse from beginning to end.
Red shading right/east of intense shading: Observers within this area can see the eclipse until moonset/sunrise.
Red shading left/west of intense shading: Observers within this area can see the eclipse after moonrise/sunset.
No coloring: Eclipse is not visible at all
Note: Actual eclipse visibility depends on weather conditions and line of sight to the Moon.
Where to see the eclipse
Continents seeing at least some parts of the eclipse:
- Parts of Europe
- West in Asia
- West in Africa
- Parts of North America
- South America
- Arctic
Total eclipse visible in...
Locations near the shadow's path:
- Adamstown, Pitcairn Islands
- San Jose, California, U.S.A.
- San Diego, California, U.S.A.
- San Francisco, California, U.S.A.
- Oakland, California, U.S.A.
- Seattle, Washington, U.S.A.
- Long Beach, California, U.S.A.
- Los Angeles, California, U.S.A.
- Anaheim, California, U.S.A.
- Whitehorse, Yukon Territory, Canada
- Riverside, California, U.S.A.
- Portland, Oregon, U.S.A.
- Stockton, California, U.S.A.
- Anchorage, Alaska, U.S.A.
- Surrey, British Columbia, Canada
- Fairbanks, Alaska, U.S.A.
- Victoria, British Columbia, Canada
- Easter Island, Chile
- Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
- Gambier Islands, French Polynesia
Partial eclipse visible in...
- Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia
- Hong Kong, Hong Kong
- Bangkok, Thailand
- Beijing, China
- Jakarta, Jakarta Special Capital Region, Indonesia
- Hanoi, Vietnam
- Dhaka, Bangladesh
- Kolkata, West Bengal, India
- Unalaska, Alaska, U.S.A.
- Papeete, Tahiti, France
- Honolulu, Hawaii, U.S.A.
- Kiritimati, Christmas Island, Kiribati
- Anadyr, Russia
- Suva, Fiji
- Chatham Islands, Chatham Islands, New Zealand
- Guam (Hagåtña), Guam
- Auckland, New Zealand
- Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
- Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, Australia
- Adelaide, South Australia, Australia
When the eclipse happens worldwide
Lunar eclipses look approximately the same all over the world and happen at the same time.The times displayed might be a minute or two off actual times.
| Event | UTC Time | Time in Washington DC* | Visible in Washington DC |
|---|---|---|---|
| Penumbral Eclipse begins | Feb 21 at 12:38 AM | Feb 20 at 7:38 PM | Yes |
| Partial Eclipse begins | Feb 21 at 1:44 AM | Feb 20 at 8:44 PM | Yes |
| Full Eclipse begins | Feb 21 at 3:03 AM | Feb 20 at 10:03 PM | Yes |
| Maximum Eclipse | Feb 21 at 3:26 AM | Feb 20 at 10:26 PM | Yes |
| Full Eclipse ends | Feb 21 at 3:49 AM | Feb 20 at 10:49 PM | Yes |
| Partial Eclipse ends | Feb 21 at 5:07 AM | Feb 21 at 12:07 AM | Yes |
| Penumbral Eclipse ends | Feb 21 at 6:14 AM | Feb 21 at 1:14 AM | Yes |
* The Moon is over the horizon during this eclipse, so with good weather conditions in Washington DC, the entire eclipse is visible.
Eclipses during year 2008
- Feb 7, 2008 Annular Solar Eclipse
- Feb 21, 2008 Total Lunar Eclipse (Currently shown)
- Aug 1, 2008 Total Solar Eclipse
- Aug 16, 2008 Partial Lunar Eclipse