March 2026 lunar eclipse
Template:Short description Template:Infobox lunar eclipse A total lunar eclipse will occur at the Moon’s descending node of orbit on Tuesday, March 3, 2026,[1] with an umbral magnitude of 1.1526. A lunar eclipse occurs when the Moon moves into the Earth's shadow, causing the Moon to be darkened. A total lunar eclipse occurs when the Moon's near side entirely passes into the Earth's umbral shadow. Unlike a solar eclipse, which can only be viewed from a relatively small area of the world, a lunar eclipse may be viewed from anywhere on the night side of Earth. A total lunar eclipse can last up to nearly two hours, while a total solar eclipse lasts only a few minutes at any given place, because the Moon's shadow is smaller. The Moon's apparent diameter will be near the average diameter because it will occur 6.7 days after perigee (on February 24, 2026, at 18:15 UTC) and 6.9 days before apogee (on March 10, 2026, at 9:45 UTC).[2]
This lunar eclipse will be the third of an almost tetrad, with the others being on March 14, 2025 (total); September 8, 2025 (total); and August 28, 2026 (partial).
During the eclipse, the Moon will occult NGC 3423 over North America.[3]Template:Rp
Visibility
The eclipse will be completely visible over northeast Asia, northwestern North America, and the central Pacific Ocean, seen rising over much of Asia and Australia and setting over North and South America.[4]
| File:Lunar eclipse from moon-2026Mar03.png File:Lunar eclipse chart close-2026Mar03.png |
Eclipse details
Shown below is a table displaying details about this particular lunar eclipse. It describes various parameters pertaining to this eclipse.[5]
| Parameter | Value |
|---|---|
| Penumbral Magnitude | 2.18580 |
| Umbral Magnitude | 1.15263 |
| Gamma | −0.37651 |
| Sun Right Ascension | 22h56m56.0s |
| Sun Declination | -06°43'06.4" |
| Sun Semi-Diameter | 16'08.0" |
| Sun Equatorial Horizontal Parallax | 08.9" |
| Moon Right Ascension | 10h56m15.0s |
| Moon Declination | +06°24'05.3" |
| Moon Semi-Diameter | 15'37.0" |
| Moon Equatorial Horizontal Parallax | 0°57'18.7" |
| ΔT | 72.1 s |
Eclipse season
Script error: No such module "Labelled list hatnote". This eclipse is part of an eclipse season, a period, roughly every six months, when eclipses occur. Only two (or occasionally three) eclipse seasons occur each year, and each season lasts about 35 days and repeats just short of six months (173 days) later; thus two full eclipse seasons always occur each year. Either two or three eclipses happen each eclipse season. In the sequence below, each eclipse is separated by a fortnight.
| February 17 Ascending node (new moon) |
March 3 Descending node (full moon) |
|---|---|
| File:SE2026Feb17A.png | File:Lunar eclipse chart close-2026Mar03.png |
| Annular solar eclipse Solar Saros 121 |
Total lunar eclipse Lunar Saros 133 |
Related eclipses
Eclipses in 2026
- An annular solar eclipse on February 17.
- A total lunar eclipse on March 3.
- A total solar eclipse on August 12.
- A partial lunar eclipse on August 28.
Metonic
- Preceded by: Lunar eclipse of May 16, 2022
- Followed by: Lunar eclipse of December 20, 2029
Tzolkinex
- Preceded by: Lunar eclipse of January 21, 2019
- Followed by: Lunar eclipse of April 14, 2033
Half-Saros
- Preceded by: Solar eclipse of February 26, 2017
- Followed by: Solar eclipse of March 9, 2035
Tritos
- Preceded by: Lunar eclipse of April 4, 2015
- Followed by: Lunar eclipse of January 31, 2037
Lunar Saros 133
- Preceded by: Lunar eclipse of February 21, 2008
- Followed by: Lunar eclipse of March 13, 2044
Inex
- Preceded by: Lunar eclipse of March 24, 1997
- Followed by: Lunar eclipse of February 11, 2055
Triad
- Preceded by: Lunar eclipse of May 3, 1939
- Followed by: Lunar eclipse of January 2, 2113
Lunar eclipses of 2024–2027
Template:Lunar eclipse set 2024-2027
Metonic series
The Metonic cycle repeats nearly exactly every 19 years and represents a Saros cycle plus one lunar year. Because it occurs on the same calendar date, the Earth's shadow will be in nearly the same location relative to the background stars.
|
|
| File:Metonic lunar eclipse 1988-2045.png | File:Metonic lunar eclipses 1988-2045.png |
Saros 133
Template:Lunar Saros series 133
Tritos series
Template:Lunar Tritos series May 2004
Inex series
This eclipse is a part of the long period inex cycle, repeating at alternating nodes, every 358 synodic months (≈ 10,571.95 days, or 29 years minus 20 days). Their appearance and longitude are irregular due to a lack of synchronization with the anomalistic month (period of perigee). However, groupings of 3 inex cycles (≈ 87 years minus 2 months) comes close (≈ 1,151.02 anomalistic months), so eclipses are similar in these groupings.
| Series members between 1801 and 2200 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1823 Jul 23 (Saros 126) |
1852 Jul 01 (Saros 127) |
1881 Jun 12 (Saros 128) | |||
| 1910 May 24 (Saros 129) |
1939 May 03 (Saros 130) |
1968 Apr 13 (Saros 131) | |||
| File:Lunar eclipse chart close-1910May24.png | File:Lunar eclipse from moon-1910May24.png | File:Lunar eclipse chart close-1939May03.png | File:Lunar eclipse from moon-1939May03.png | File:Lunar eclipse chart close-1968Apr13.png | File:Lunar eclipse from moon-1968Apr13.png |
| 1997 Mar 24 (Saros 132) |
2026 Mar 03 (Saros 133) |
2055 Feb 11 (Saros 134) | |||
| File:Lunar eclipse chart close-1997Mar24.png | File:Lunar eclipse from moon-1997Mar24.png | File:Lunar eclipse chart close-2026Mar03.png | File:Lunar eclipse from moon-2026Mar03.png | File:Lunar eclipse chart close-2055Feb11.png | File:Lunar eclipse from moon-2055Feb11.png |
| 2084 Jan 22 (Saros 135) |
2113 Jan 02 (Saros 136) |
2141 Dec 13 (Saros 137) | |||
| File:Lunar eclipse chart close-2084Jan22.png | File:Lunar eclipse from moon-2084Jan22.png | ||||
| 2170 Nov 23 (Saros 138) |
2199 Nov 02 (Saros 139) | ||||
Half-Saros cycle
A lunar eclipse will be preceded and followed by solar eclipses by 9 years and 5.5 days (a half saros).[6] This lunar eclipse is related to two annular solar eclipses of Solar Saros 140.
| February 26, 2017 | March 9, 2035 |
|---|---|
| File:SE2017Feb26A.png | File:SE2035Mar09A.png |
See also
References
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- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Mathematical Astronomy Morsels, Jean Meeus, p.110, Chapter 18, The half-saros
External links
- Saros cycle 133
- 2026 Mar 03 chart: Eclipse Predictions by Fred Espenak, NASA/GSFC
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