Solar & lunar eclipses
Eclipses,
year by year.
Find every eclipse in a year, with its type, approximate peak time and Sun/Moon positions. Follow the map to see where it happens.
Choose a year
1900 to 2100. Times are approximate Universal Time, not local viewing times.
What the eclipse type tells you
Solar eclipses
At a new Moon, the Moon can pass between Earth and the Sun. The alignment must also be close enough to the Moon's orbital nodes.
- Total
- The Moon covers the Sun along the path of totality.
- Annular
- The Moon appears too small to cover the Sun completely. A ring remains along the central path.
- Hybrid
- The eclipse is annular along some parts of its path and total along others.
- Partial
- Only part of the Sun is covered; there is no total or annular phase anywhere on Earth.
Lunar eclipses
At a full Moon, Earth can stand between the Sun and Moon. A lunar eclipse happens when the Moon passes through Earth's shadow.
- Total
- The whole Moon enters the darker inner shadow, called the umbra.
- Partial
- Part of the Moon enters the umbra.
- Penumbral
- The Moon passes through the lighter outer shadow. The change in brightness can be subtle.
A global date does not tell you what you can see
Solar eclipses look different from different locations. Even during a total solar eclipse, many observers see only a partial eclipse, or none at all.
A lunar eclipse is observable where the Moon is above the horizon during the relevant phase. Weather and the local horizon also affect the view.
Use each event's NASA map for its geographic context. The listed time is the global catalogue peak, not the start or maximum for your location.
NASA's solar-eclipse viewing guidanceReading an eclipse alongside your chart
Astrologers compare the eclipse degree with natal planets and angles. A contact depends on the measured distance, not merely two placements sharing a sign.
For a solar eclipse, begin with the Sun and Moon near conjunction. For a lunar eclipse, read the opposition between them. The calendar gives their positions at greatest eclipse.
Use your chart's calculated Placidus cusps to locate each position in a house. The same eclipse can occupy different houses in different charts.
These comparisons are an interpretive framework. An eclipse date alone does not establish that a particular event will happen in someone's life.
Open the birth-chart calculator · Understand angular contactsEclipse dates and classifications: NASA/GSFC solar catalogue and lunar catalogue. Eclipse Predictions by Fred Espenak and Jean Meeus (NASA's GSFC).