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June 15–16, 2011 Total Lunar Eclipse (Blood Moon)

A total lunar eclipse is visible in areas such as Europe, Africa, southern Asia and Australia on June 15, 2011. This is one of the darkest eclipses this century, and for 100 minutes the Moon appears as a dark red orb in the sky.

This eclipse wasn't visible in Washington DC - Which upcoming eclipses can be seen in your location?

What This Lunar Eclipse Looked Like

The curvature of the shadow's path and the apparent rotation of the Moon's disk is due to the Earth's rotation.

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Where the Eclipse Was Seen

Try our new interactive eclipse maps. Zoom in and search for accurate eclipse times and visualizations for any location.

Regions seeing, at least, some parts of the eclipse: Europe, Asia, Australia, Africa, South America, Pacific, Atlantic, Indian Ocean, Antarctica.

Expand for a list of selected cities where at least part of the total eclipse was visible
Expand for a list of selected cities where the partial eclipse was visible

This eclipse wasn't visible in Washington DC - Which upcoming eclipses can be seen in your location?

Eclipse Map and Animation

The animation shows where this total lunar eclipse is visible during the night (dark “wave” slowly moving across the Earth's surface).

Shades of darkness

Night, moon high up in sky.

Moon between 12 and 18 degrees above horizon.

Moon between 6 and 12 degrees above horizon. Make sure you have free line of sight.

Moon between 0 and 6 degrees above horizon. May be hard to see due to brightness and line of sight.

Day, moon and eclipse both not visible.

Note: Twilight will affect the visibility of the eclipse, as well as weather.

Entire eclipse was visible from start to end

Entire partial and total phases were visible. Missed part of penumbral phase.

Entire total phase was visible. Missed part of partial & penumbral phases.

Some of the total phase was visible. Missed part of total, partial & penumbral phases.

Some of the partial phase was visible. Missed total phase and part of partial & penumbral phases.

Some of the penumbral phase was visible. Missed total & partial phases.

Eclipse was not visible at all.

Note: Areas with lighter shadings left (West) of the center will experience the eclipse after moonrise/sunset. Areas with lighter shadings right (East) of the center will experience the eclipse until moonset/sunrise. Actual eclipse visibility depends on weather conditions and line of sight to the Moon.

When the Eclipse Happened Worldwide — Timeline

Lunar eclipses can be visible from everywhere on the night side of the Earth, if the sky is clear. From some places the entire eclipse will be visible, while in other areas the Moon will rise or set during the eclipse.

Eclipse Stages WorldwideUTC TimeLocal Time in Washington DC*Visible in Washington DC
Penumbral Eclipse beganJun 15 at 17:24:35Jun 15 at 1:24:35 pmNo, below the horizon
Partial Eclipse beganJun 15 at 18:22:58Jun 15 at 2:22:58 pmNo, below the horizon
Full Eclipse beganJun 15 at 19:22:32Jun 15 at 3:22:32 pmNo, below the horizon
Maximum EclipseJun 15 at 20:12:41Jun 15 at 4:12:41 pmNo, below the horizon
Full Eclipse endedJun 15 at 21:02:42Jun 15 at 5:02:42 pmNo, below the horizon
Partial Eclipse endedJun 15 at 22:02:14Jun 15 at 6:02:14 pmNo, below the horizon
Penumbral Eclipse endedJun 15 at 23:00:45Jun 15 at 7:00:45 pmNo, below the horizon

* The Moon was below the horizon during this eclipse, so it was not possible to view it in Washington DC.

Quick Facts About This Eclipse

DataValueComments
Magnitude1.700Fraction of the Moon’s diameter covered by Earth’s umbra
Obscuration100.0%Percentage of the Moon's area covered by Earth's umbra
Penumbral magnitude2.687Fraction of the Moon's diameter covered by Earth's penumbra
Overall duration5 hours, 36 minutesPeriod between the beginning and end of all eclipse phases
Duration of totality1 hour, 40 minutesPeriod between the beginning and end of the total phase
Duration of partial phases1 hour, 59 minutesCombined period of both partial phases
Duration of penumbral phases1 hour, 57 minutesCombined period of both penumbral phases

Eclipse calculations usually accurate to a few seconds

How Many People Can See This Eclipse?

Number of People Seeing...Number of People*Fraction of World Population
At least some of the penumbral phase5,740,000,00081.24%
At least some of the partial phase5,690,000,00080.58%
At least some of the total phase5,610,000,00079.46%
All of the total phase4,590,000,00064.98%
All of the total and partial phases3,470,000,00049.17%
The entire eclipse from beginning to end2,660,000,00037.63%

* The number of people refers to the resident population (as a round number) in areas where the eclipse is visible. timeanddate has calculated these numbers using raw population data provided by the Center for International Earth Science Information Network (CIESIN) at Columbia University. The raw data is based on population estimates from the year 2000 to 2020.

An Eclipse Never Comes Alone!

A solar eclipse always occurs about two weeks before or after a lunar eclipse.

Usually, there are two eclipses in a row, but other times, there are three during the same eclipse season.

All eclipses 1900 — 2199

This is the second eclipse this season.

First eclipse this season: June 1, 2011 — Partial Solar Eclipse

Third eclipse this season: July 1, 2011 — Partial Solar Eclipse