Mar 23, 2016 Penumbral 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
- Maximum Eclipse
- 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.
Note that since it is a penumbral eclipse, it can be hard to see, as the moon will only be a bit fainter.
Where to see the eclipse
Continents seeing at least some parts of the eclipse:
- West in Asia
- Much of Australia
- East in North America
- East in South America
Partial eclipse visible in...
- Amsterdam, Netherlands
- Bamako, Mali
- Abidjan, Cote d'Ivoire (Ivory Coast)
- Banjul, Gambia
- Algiers, Algeria
- Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
- Accra, Ghana
- Ankara, Turkey
- Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
- Abu Dhabi, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
- Doha, Qatar
- Aden, Yemen
- Amman, Jordan
- Antananarivo, Madagascar
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 Palo Alto* | Visible in Palo Alto |
|---|---|---|---|
| Penumbral Eclipse begins | Mar 23 at 9:42 AM | Mar 23 at 2:42 AM | Yes |
| Maximum Eclipse | Mar 23 at 11:48 AM | Mar 23 at 4:48 AM | Yes |
| Penumbral Eclipse ends | Mar 23 at 1:53 PM | Mar 23 at 6:53 AM | Yes |
* The Moon is over the horizon during this eclipse, so with good weather conditions in Palo Alto, the entire eclipse is visible.
Eclipses during year 2016
- Mar 8 – Mar 9, 2016 Total Solar Eclipse
- Mar 23, 2016 Penumbral Lunar Eclipse (Currently shown)
- Sep 1, 2016 Annular Solar Eclipse
- Sep 16, 2016 Penumbral Lunar Eclipse
