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May 25–26, 2021 Total Lunar Eclipse (Blood Moon)

People in Australia, parts of the western US, western South America, or in South-East Asia, saw the Super Flower Full Moon totally eclipsed and turn a shade of red for about 14 minutes during this total lunar 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.

Regions seeing, at least, some parts of the eclipse: Much of Asia, Australia, Much of North America, 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 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.

Super Flower Blood Moon

The eclipse took place just a few hours after the Moon reached perigee, the closest point to Earth on its orbit, making it a Super Flower Blood Moon.

This eclipse also marks the beginning of an “almost tetrad” because it kicks off a series of four big lunar eclipses in two years. Three of these eclipses are total, while one of them, on November 18-19, 2021, is a deep partial eclipse. So deep that it is almost a total eclipse.

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 beganMay 26 at 08:47:41May 26 at 4:47:41 amYes
Partial Eclipse beganMay 26 at 09:45:02May 26 at 5:45:02 amYes
Full Eclipse beganMay 26 at 11:11:34May 26 at 7:11:34 amNo, below the horizon
Maximum EclipseMay 26 at 11:18:44May 26 at 7:18:44 amNo, below the horizon
Full Eclipse endedMay 26 at 11:25:52May 26 at 7:25:52 amNo, below the horizon
Partial Eclipse endedMay 26 at 12:52:25May 26 at 8:52:25 amNo, below the horizon
Penumbral Eclipse endedMay 26 at 13:49:48May 26 at 9:49:48 amNo, below the horizon

* The Moon was below the horizon in Washington DC some of the time, so that part of the eclipse was not visible.

Quick Facts About This Eclipse

DataValueComments
Magnitude1.009Fraction of the Moon’s diameter covered by Earth’s umbra
Obscuration100.0%Percentage of the Moon's area covered by Earth's umbra
Penumbral magnitude1.954Fraction of the Moon's diameter covered by Earth's penumbra
Overall duration5 hours, 2 minutesPeriod between the beginning and end of all eclipse phases
Duration of totality14 minutesPeriod between the beginning and end of the total phase
Duration of partial phases2 hours, 53 minutesCombined period of both partial phases
Duration of penumbral phases1 hour, 55 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 phase4,900,000,00062.01%
At least some of the partial phase3,540,000,00044.77%
At least some of the total phase2,130,000,00026.94%
All of the total phase1,640,000,00020.78%
All of the total and partial phases167,000,0002.12%
The entire eclipse from beginning to end48,200,0000.61%

* 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 first eclipse this season.

Second eclipse this season: June 10, 2021 — Annular Solar Eclipse