Eye on the Night Sky, March 6, 2026

Start Chart:

Total Lunar Eclipse
The Moon passes into the Earth’s shadow early Tuesday morning, March 3rd, 2026.
The Moon moves into the Earth’s shadow late at night on Tuesday, March 3rd, just as twilight increases.  By the time the Moon is fully eclipsed, it becomes difficult to see in the brightening twilight, and it sets only 20 minutes after the eclipse is total.

The Earth’s rotation causes the stars, as well as the Moon, to rise in the east and set in the west.  The Moon’s orbital motion, however, goes the opposite way, with the Moon actually moving from west to east, but much, much more slowly.  This means the Moon’s expected motion, lowering toward the western horizon, comes from the Earth’s rotation.  The Moon’s actual orbital motion causes it to move into the Earth’s shadow from lower right to upper left.  This explains why the shadow starts on the Moon’s upper left, and progresses to the lower right.

Lunar eclipses aren’t rare, but they are also not frequent.  The next Total Lunar Eclipse visible here is in June 2029, followed by another in December of 2029.