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September 27–28, 2015 Total Lunar Eclipse (Blood Moon)

In the US, Canada, and Central and South America, this rare Total Lunar Eclipse of a Supermoon will begin on the evening of September 27, 2015. In Europe, South/East Asia, Africa, the Arctic, and in the Pacific, Atlantic, and Indian Oceans it starts after midnight on September 28, 2015.

Also called a Blood Moon this eclipse will last for about 1 hour and 12 minutes.

NEW: See pictures of this eclipse!

This eclipse was visible in Washington DC - go to local timings and animation

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.

This is the last eclipse in the 2014 – 2015 Lunar Tetrad

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

Taking pictures of the Moon

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 was visible in Washington DC - go to local timings and animation

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 beganSep 28 at 00:11:46Sep 27 at 8:11:46 pmYes
Partial Eclipse beganSep 28 at 01:07:13Sep 27 at 9:07:13 pmYes
Full Eclipse beganSep 28 at 02:11:13Sep 27 at 10:11:13 pmYes
Maximum EclipseSep 28 at 02:47:09Sep 27 at 10:47:09 pmYes
Full Eclipse endedSep 28 at 03:23:04Sep 27 at 11:23:04 pmYes
Partial Eclipse endedSep 28 at 04:27:04Sep 28 at 12:27:04 amYes
Penumbral Eclipse endedSep 28 at 05:22:31Sep 28 at 1:22:31 amYes

* The Moon was above the horizon during this eclipse, so with good weather conditions in Washington DC, the entire eclipse was visible.

Quick Facts About This Eclipse

DataValueComments
Magnitude1.276Fraction of the Moon’s diameter covered by Earth’s umbra
Obscuration100.0%Percentage of the Moon's area covered by Earth's umbra
Penumbral magnitude2.230Fraction of the Moon's diameter covered by Earth's penumbra
Overall duration5 hours, 11 minutesPeriod between the beginning and end of all eclipse phases
Duration of totality1 hour, 12 minutesPeriod between the beginning and end of the total phase
Duration of partial phases2 hours, 8 minutesCombined period of both partial phases
Duration of penumbral phases1 hour, 51 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 phase4,330,000,00058.40%
At least some of the partial phase3,220,000,00043.40%
At least some of the total phase3,040,000,00041.06%
All of the total phase2,640,000,00035.62%
All of the total and partial phases1,880,000,00025.40%
The entire eclipse from beginning to end1,410,000,00019.08%

* 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: September 13, 2015 — Partial Solar Eclipse