enjoy the Full lunar eclipse on March 3 Because it will be the last for a long time.
Observers in eastern Asia, Australia, the Pacific and western North America will see March’s full moon – known as the “Worm Moon” – pass through Earth’s shadow, turning a reddish-copper hue for 58 mesmerizing minutes.
However, once the Moon exits Earth’s penumbra – the darkest part of Earth’s shadow – there will be no total lunar eclipse for about three years. A lunar peace will begin and will not end until it is completed at the right time lunar eclipse On New Year’s Eve 2028-2029. Here’s why – and why 2029 will be the year of not just the end of the drought, but the end of three spectacular droughts.blood Moon“Total lunar eclipse.
Lunar Eclipse: Total vs Partial vs Penumbra
A lunar eclipse Occurs when the full Moon passes through Earth’s shadow. A cone-like shadow extending from the planet’s night side, it has two parts: a lighter outer umbra and a darker central umbra. This is because the Sun is larger than the Earth, so the Earth blocks its light in different ways.
Total lunar eclipse: when the whole Moon It passes through the penumbra, blocking all direct sunlight from reaching the Moon’s surface. The only light that can reach it comes filtered earth’s atmosphereWhich scatters shorter wavelengths of light and bends longer red wavelengths inward. The result is a “blood moon”.
Partial lunar eclipse: When part of the Moon passes through penumbra, direct sunlight cannot reach parts of the Moon’s surface. The result is that the Earth’s shadow moves across the full Moon, turning some of it into a dull brown color.
Penumbral lunar eclipse: When no part of the Moon passes through the penumbra, only the outer part passes through the penumbra, causing the Moon to lose some of its brightness.
A total lunar eclipse includes all of these phases: penumbra, partial and total, a process that can take about five hours.
Full lunar eclipse on March 3
In the total lunar eclipse on March 3, 2026, the Moon will be completely inside the Earth’s shadow for 58 minutes and 18 seconds. Its canopy value is about 1.15, Meaning the Moon has just passed inside the Earth’s shadow. with a total lunar eclipse magnitude Only a little above 1 appears to be a lighter copper or red rather than a very dark red, as the Moon does not travel deeply through the shadow.
This is a mere description; This total lunar eclipse will certainly be a dramatic event, with the night sky being turned very dark by the full “warm moon” turning blue with stars visible around it. full moon. The entire event, including long partial phases before and after totality, will last five hours and 38 minutes.
After March 3, the Moon will not fully enter Earth’s penumbra again until the end of 2028.
Why would a total lunar eclipse disappear for a few years?
A no-totality gap after March 2026 is not unusual. A total lunar eclipse requires precise alignment, much more so than partial or penumbra events. This is because the Moon’s orbit is inclined relative to Earth’s orbit by about five degrees. SunWhich means most full Moons pass above or below Earth’s shadow – which is why an eclipse doesn’t happen every month. In fact, lunar eclipses can only occur during eclipse seasons, approximately every six months when the Sun is closest to one of the Moon’s orbital nodes. But even then, completeness is not guaranteed.
During many eclipse seasons, the Moon only touches Earth’s penumbra and penumbra. Partial eclipses – when some of the full Moon enters the penumbra – can be striking events, but at no point does the lunar surface appear red. Penumbral eclipses are even more subtle, with the Moon’s surface only blurred. Compared to a total lunar eclipse, partial and penumbral events lack the drama of totality.
What will happen to the lunar eclipse after March 2026?
After March 3, 2026, there will be no such occasion for 34 months when the Moon is completely immersed in the Earth’s shadow. Eclipse season continues, and lunar eclipses still occur, but none will be total. Here is the sequence of expected penumbra and penumbra events from 2026 to 2028.
- August 28, 2026 – Deep partial lunar eclipse (93% of the Moon enters the penumbra)
- February 20, 2027 – Penumbral lunar eclipse
- July 18, 2027 – Penumbral lunar eclipse
- August 17, 2027 – Penumbral lunar eclipse
- January 12, 2028 – Shallow partial lunar eclipse
- July 6, 2028 – Partial lunar eclipse (39% of the Moon enters the penumbra)
When total lunar eclipses return
The drought will finally end in late 2028, when the slow westward drift of the moon’s orbital nodes brings the full moons back into deeper alignment with Earth’s shadow. This will be followed by three total lunar eclipses in a 12-month period.
- December 31, 2028 – Total lunar eclipse (total 71 minutes as seen from Africa, Europe, Asia, Australia, Canada and Alaska).
- June 26, 2029 – Total lunar eclipse (total 102 minutes as seen from the US, Western Europe and Africa).
- December 20, 2029 – Total lunar eclipse (total 54 minutes as seen from North and South America, Europe, Africa, the Middle East and Asia).
Total lunar eclipses are not rare, but they are episodic, appearing in groups when the geometry lines up. Is it worth traveling around the world to see these night-time phenomena? Probably not – especially compared to the much more geographically limited total. solar eclipse – But any one place can go without it for many years. One thing is certain about a total lunar eclipse: Every skywatcher should always know when and where the next lunar eclipse will occur.
