If part of the Moon is inside the Earth's shadow then we see a partial lunar eclipse. If the entire Moon is inside the shadow then we see a total lunar eclipse. The boundary of the Earth's shadow is indistinct because of the Earth's atmosphere. The atmosphere also directs some sunlight onto the eclipsed Moon, illuminating it with a variety of dim red / orange / yellow colours.
A total lunar eclipse can last for up to 107 minutes and it's preceded and followed by at least an hour of partial lunar eclipse. During a total lunar eclipse you can also see nearly as many stars as you would on a moonless night.
Partial and total lunar eclipses are easily seen by eye or binoculars, and (unlike solar eclipses) you don't need any eye protection or filters. Binoculars or telescopes will let you watch the edge of the Earth's shadow passing across the lunar surface, and (sometimes) stars being eclipsed by the eclipsed Moon.
The Earth's shadow (umbra) is also surrounded by a partial shadow zone or penumbra, where part of the Sun is blocked by the Earth. If the Moon is only in this penumbral shadow then we see a penumbral lunar eclipse. Penumbral eclipses are usually difficult to distinguish from an ordinary full moon and so we haven't listed them below.
The partial eclipse photo above used similar mobile phone camera settings to a full moon (1/250 second @ ISO 60). The almost-total eclipse was 2 seconds @ ISO 100, which overexposed the remaining un-eclipsed bit of the Moon but shows the rest of the Moon well. The beginning of total eclipse was 1 second @ ISO 100, which is underexposed. These photos were all taken with a mobile phone camera looking through a tripod-mounted 10x60 binocular, which collects a lot more light that the phone camera can alone (and magnifies the view too).
For recent model mobile phones, you can manually focus their standard camera app by pressing a fingertip to the exact part of the image you want to focus (such as the Moon's edge). Then tap the part of the image you're interested in to adjust the exposure time. During a partial lunar eclipse, try alternating exposures between the eclipsed and un-eclipsed parts of the Moon.
Total lunar eclipses normally provide plenty of time to experiment with digital camera settings and preview the results. But the 26 May 2021 total eclipse lasted only 14 minutes, and for 12 of those minutes the Moon was totally hidden by clouds!
By contrast the 8 November 2022 total eclipse lasted almost 86 minutes and it was a mostly clear night. The digital camera photo below was taken through a 200mm lens, 1 second @ ISO 6400. Purple ticks indicate the planet Uranus, which coincidentally happened to be in almost the same direction.
Total and Partial Lunar Eclipses
visible from Australia
between 2023 and 2040
Dates and times are for Australian standard time zones, to the nearest minute.
Add 1 hour for Summer times if applicable.
Skip to year:
2023 2025 2026 2028 2029 2030 2032 2033 2036 2037 2039 2040
29 Oct 2023 world map and details of this eclipse |
Australian standard times of eclipse add 1 hour for daylight saving (eclipse may be in progress at local moonset) |
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| Australian time zone | partial eclipse begins | total eclipse begins | total eclipse ends | partial eclipse ends | |
| Western standard time | 03:35 | - | - | 04:53 | |
| Central standard time | 05:05 | - | - | 06:23 | |
| Eastern standard time | 05:35 | - | - | 06:53 | |
14 Mar 2025 world map and details of this eclipse |
Australian standard times of eclipse add 1 hour for daylight saving (this one is actually a total lunar eclipse, but only its concluding partial eclipse stage is visible, from eastern Australia) |
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| Australian time zone | partial eclipse begins | total eclipse begins | total eclipse ends | partial eclipse ends | |
| Western standard time | not visible | not visible | not visible | not visible | |
| Central standard time | not visible | not visible | not visible | not visible | |
| Eastern standard time | not visible | not visible | 17:32 | 18:48 | |
8 Sep 2025 total for 82 minutes world map and details of this eclipse |
Australian standard times of eclipse | ||||
| Australian time zone | partial eclipse begins | total eclipse begins | total eclipse ends | partial eclipse ends | |
| Western standard time | 00:27 | 01:31 | 02:53 | 03:57 | |
| Central standard time | 01:57 | 03:01 | 04:23 | 05:27 | |
| Eastern standard time | 02:27 | 03:31 | 04:53 | 05:57 | |
3 Mar 2026 total for 59 minutes world map and details of this eclipse |
Australian standard times of eclipse add 1 hour for daylight saving (eclipse may be in progress at local moonrise) |
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| Australian time zone | partial eclipse begins | total eclipse begins | total eclipse ends | partial eclipse ends | |
| Western standard time | 17:50 | 19:04 | 20:03 | 21:17 | |
| Central standard time | 19:20 | 20:34 | 21:33 | 22:47 | |
| Eastern standard time | 19:50 | 21:04 | 22:03 | 23:17 | |
7 Jul 2028 world map and details of this eclipse |
Australian standard times of eclipse | ||||
| Australian time zone | partial eclipse begins | total eclipse begins | total eclipse ends | partial eclipse ends | |
| Western standard time | 01:09 | - | - | 03:31 | |
| Central standard time | 02:39 | - | - | 05:01 | |
| Eastern standard time | 03:09 | - | - | 05:31 | |
| This lunar eclipse is followed 2 weeks later by the 22 July 2028 total solar eclipse. | |||||
1 Jan 2029 total for 72 minutes world map and details of this eclipse |
Australian standard times of eclipse add 1 hour for daylight saving (yes, this is a New Year's Eve / New Year's Day eclipse!) |
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| Australian time zone | partial eclipse begins | total eclipse begins | total eclipse ends | partial eclipse ends | |
| Western standard time | 23:07 (31 Dec 2028) |
00:16 | 01:28 | 02:37 | |
| Central standard time | 00:37 | 01:46 | 02:58 | 04:07 | |
| Eastern standard time | 01:07 | 02:16 | 03:28 | 04:37 | |
21 Dec 2029 world map and details of this eclipse |
Australian standard times of eclipse add 1 hour for daylight saving (this one is actually a total lunar eclipse, but only its initial partial eclipse stage is visible, from western Australia) |
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| Australian time zone | partial eclipse begins | total eclipse begins | total eclipse ends | partial eclipse ends | |
| Western standard time | 04:55 | not visible | not visible | not visible | |
| Central standard time | not visible | not visible | not visible | not visible | |
| Eastern standard time | not visible | not visible | not visible | not visible | |
16 Jun 2030 world map and details of this eclipse |
Australian standard times of eclipse | ||||
| Australian time zone | partial eclipse begins | total eclipse begins | total eclipse ends | partial eclipse ends | |
| Western standard time | 01:21 | - | - | 03:46 | |
| Central standard time | 02:51 | - | - | 05:16 | |
| Eastern standard time | 03:21 | - | - | 05:46 | |
25-26 Apr 2032 total for 67 minutes world map and details of this eclipse |
Australian standard times of eclipse | ||||
| Australian time zone | partial eclipse begins | total eclipse begins | total eclipse ends | partial eclipse ends | |
| Western standard time | 21:28 (25 Apr) |
22:40 | 23:47 | 01:00 (26 Apr) |
|
| Central standard time | 22:58 (25 Apr) |
00:10 | 01:17 | 02:30 (26 Apr) |
|
| Eastern standard time | 23:28 (25 Apr) |
00:40 | 01:47 | 03:00 (26 Apr) |
|
19 Oct 2032 total for 48 minutes world map and details of this eclipse |
Australian standard times of eclipse add 1 hour for daylight saving (eclipse may be in progress at local moonset) |
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| Australian time zone | partial eclipse begins | total eclipse begins | total eclipse ends | partial eclipse ends | |
| Western standard time | 01:24 | 02:38 | 03:26 | 04:41 | |
| Central standard time | 02:54 | 04:08 | 04:56 | 06:11 | |
| Eastern standard time | 03:24 | 04:38 | 05:26 | 06:41 | |
15 Apr 2033 total for 50 minutes world map and details of this eclipse |
Australian standard times of eclipse (eclipse may be in progress at local moonset) |
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| Australian time zone | partial eclipse begins | total eclipse begins | total eclipse ends | partial eclipse ends | |
| Western standard time | 01:25 | 02:48 | 03:38 | 05:01 | |
| Central standard time | 02:55 | 04:18 | 05:08 | 06:31 | |
| Eastern standard time | 03:25 | 04:48 | 05:38 | 07:01 | |
8 Oct 2033 total for 79 minutes world map and details of this eclipse |
Australian standard times of eclipse add 1 hour for daylight saving (eclipse may be in progress at local moonrise) |
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| Australian time zone | partial eclipse begins | total eclipse begins | total eclipse ends | partial eclipse ends | |
| Western standard time | 17:14 | 18:16 | 19:35 | 20:37 | |
| Central standard time | 18:44 | 19:46 | 21:05 | 22:07 | |
| Eastern standard time | 19:14 | 20:16 | 21:35 | 22:37 | |
12 Feb 2036 total for 74 minutes world map and details of this eclipse |
Australian standard times of eclipse add 1 hour for daylight saving (eclipse in progress at local moonset) |
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| Australian time zone | partial eclipse begins | total eclipse begins | total eclipse ends | partial eclipse ends | |
| Western standard time | 04:31 | 05:35 | 06:49 | not visible | |
| Central standard time | 06:01 | 07:05 | not visible | not visible | |
| Eastern standard time | 06:31 | not visible | not visible | not visible | |
31 Jan - 1 Feb 2037 total for 65 minutes world map and details of this eclipse |
Australian standard times of eclipse add 1 hour for daylight saving |
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| Australian time zone | partial eclipse begins | total eclipse begins | total eclipse ends | partial eclipse ends | |
| Western standard time | 20:21 (31 Jan) |
21:28 | 22:33 | 23:40 | |
| Central standard time | 21:51 (31 Jan) |
22:58 | 00:03 | 01:10 (1 Feb) |
|
| Eastern standard time | 22:21 (31 Jan) |
23:28 | 00:33 | 01:40 (1 Feb) |
|
7 Jun 2039 world map and details of this eclipse |
Australian standard times of eclipse | ||||
| Australian time zone | partial eclipse begins | total eclipse begins | total eclipse ends | partial eclipse ends | |
| Western standard time | 01:23 | - | - | 04:23 | |
| Central standard time | 02:53 | - | - | 05:53 | |
| Eastern standard time | 03:23 | - | - | 06:23 | |
30 Nov - 1 Dec 2039 world map and details of this eclipse |
Australian standard times of eclipse add 1 hour for daylight saving |
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| Australian time zone | partial eclipse begins | total eclipse begins | total eclipse ends | partial eclipse ends | |
| Western standard time | 23:12 (30 Nov) |
- | - | 02:39 (1 Dec) |
|
| Central standard time | 00:42 (1 Dec) |
- | - | 04:09 | |
| Eastern standard time | 01:12 (1 Dec) |
- | - | 04:39 | |
26 May 2040 total for 92 minutes world map and details of this eclipse |
Australian standard times of eclipse | ||||
| Australian time zone | partial eclipse begins | total eclipse begins | total eclipse ends | partial eclipse ends | |
| Western standard time | 17:59 | 18:59 | 20:31 | 21:31 | |
| Central standard time | 19:29 | 20:29 | 22:01 | 23:01 | |
| Eastern standard time | 19:59 | 20:59 | 22:31 | 23:31 | |
19 Nov 2040 total for 89 minutes world map and details of this eclipse |
Australian standard times of eclipse add 1 hour for daylight saving (eclipse may be in progress at moonset) |
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| Australian time zone | partial eclipse begins | total eclipse begins | total eclipse ends | partial eclipse ends | |
| Western standard time | 01:13 | 02:19 | 03:48 | 04:54 | |
| Central standard time | 02:43 | 03:49 | 05:18 | not visible | |
| Eastern standard time | 03:13 | 04:19 | 05:48 | not visible | |