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May 26, 2021 — Total Lunar Eclipse — Chicago, IL, USA

May 26, 2021 at 5:22 am
Near max in Chicago
Global Event: Total Lunar Eclipse
Local Type: Partial Lunar Eclipse in Chicago, Illinois
Began: Wed, May 26, 2021 at 3:47 am
Maximum: Wed, May 26, 2021 at 5:23 am 0.562 Magnitude
Ended: Wed, May 26, 2021 at 5:26 am
Duration: 1 hour, 39 minutes

All times shown on this page are local time.

Location

May 26, 2021 — Total Lunar Eclipse — Chicago

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The animation shows what the eclipse approximately looked like in Chicago. Stages and times of the eclipse are outlined below. All times were local time (CDT) for Chicago.

TimePhaseEventDirectionAltitude
3:47 am Wed, May 26
Penumbral Eclipse begins The Earth's penumbra start touching the Moon's face.Map direction Southwest 224°
13.5°
4:45 am Wed, May 26
Partial Eclipse begins Partial moon eclipse starts - moon is getting red.
Moon close to horizon, so make sure you have free sight to Southwest.
Map direction Southwest 234°
5.6°
5:23 am Wed, May 26
Maximum in Chicago This is the moment when the eclipse reaches its greatest magnitude while the entire Moon is above the horizon in Chicago. The true maximum point of this eclipse cannot be seen in Chicago because the Moon is below the horizon at that time.
Since the Moon is near the horizon at this time, we recommend going to a high point or finding an unobstructed area with free sight to West-southwest for the best view of the eclipse.
Map direction West-southwest 241°
0.2°
5:26 am Wed, May 26SettingMoonset Setting, but the combination of a very low moon and the total eclipse phase makes the Moon so dim before it sets, that it might disappear from view some time before it sets.Map direction West-southwest 241°
-0.2°
6:11 am Wed, May 26Not directly visibleTotal Eclipse begins Below horizonMap direction West-southwest 248°
-8.3°
6:18 am Wed, May 26Not directly visibleMaximum Eclipse Below horizonMap direction West-southwest 249°
-9.5°
6:25 am Wed, May 26Not directly visibleTotal Eclipse ends Below horizonMap direction West-southwest 250°
-10.7°
7:52 am Wed, May 26Not directly visiblePartial Eclipse ends Below horizonMap direction West 263°
-25.8°
8:49 am Wed, May 26Not directly visiblePenumbral Eclipse ends Below horizonMap direction West 272°
-36.0°

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

The total phase of this lunar eclipse was not visible in Chicago, but it could be observed there as a partial lunar eclipse.


Eclipses and Transits Visible in Chicago

Eclipse Visibility From ChicagoVisibility Worldwide
Mar 13–14, 2025 Total Lunar EclipseTotal Lunar Eclipse
Mar 3, 2026 Total Lunar EclipseTotal Lunar Eclipse
Aug 12, 2026 Partial Solar EclipseTotal Solar Eclipse
Aug 27–28, 2026 Partial Lunar EclipsePartial Lunar Eclipse
Feb 20, 2027 Penumbral Lunar EclipsePenumbral Lunar Eclipse

Note: Click on the date link for details in Chicago, or the path map image for global details.

Next total solar eclipse visible in Chicago

Other eclipses visible in Chicago

Other eclipses worldwide