How to read the lists
Each eclipse is given with the date and time of its maximum, converted to your time zone. For solar eclipses that have a central line, the page gives the place of greatest eclipse and the duration of totality or annularity at that point.
The line that names cities is computed, not copied from a map: for a set of large cities spread over every continent, we check whether the Sun or the Moon is above the horizon at maximum, and how much of the Sun is covered. It tells you at a glance which part of the world is concerned. For your own town, use the page of the eclipse or the lunar eclipse page, which works from your position.
The eclipses not to miss
- 2 August 2027, total solar eclipse. Up to 6 min 23 s of totality from southern Spain to Egypt and Arabia, the longest on land this century.
- 26 January 2028, annular solar eclipse. A ring of more than ten minutes over the Amazon, ending at sunset over Portugal and Spain.
- 22 July 2028, total solar eclipse. The shadow crosses Australia, passing over Sydney, and the south of New Zealand.
- 31 December 2028, total lunar eclipse. The Moon turns red on New Year’s Eve for Europe, Africa, Asia and Australia.
- 26 June 2029 and 20 December 2029, total lunar eclipses. Two more red Moons: the first, with 1 h 43 min of totality, for the Americas, western Europe and Africa; the second for the Americas, Europe, Africa and western Asia.
Solar and lunar: two different events
A solar eclipse happens at new moon: the Moon passes between the Sun and the Earth and its shadow sweeps a narrow strip of ground. You have to be in the right place, and you must protect your eyes at every moment except during totality.
A lunar eclipse happens at full moon: the Moon passes through the shadow of the Earth. Everyone who has the Moon in their sky sees the same thing at the same time, and it is perfectly safe to watch with bare eyes, binoculars or a telescope.
Eclipses come in pairs or threes: a solar eclipse is always preceded or followed by a lunar eclipse two weeks apart, because the alignment that allows one still holds half a lunation later.
Questions and answers
When is the next eclipse?
The first line of each list above is the next one. Times are converted to the time zone of your device, and the list drops an eclipse once it has passed.
How many eclipses are there in a year?
Between four and seven, counting solar and lunar eclipses together. Most years have two of each. Many of them are partial or penumbral, and each is visible from only part of the Earth.
Why is there no eclipse every month?
The Moon's orbit is tilted by about 5° to the Earth's orbit around the Sun. At most new and full moons the Moon passes above or below the line that joins the Sun and the Earth. Eclipses only happen during two eclipse seasons a year, about six months apart, when the two orbits cross at the right moment.
Which is rarer, a solar or a lunar eclipse?
They happen about as often, but a lunar eclipse is visible from the whole night side of the Earth, while a total solar eclipse is only seen from a band a couple of hundred kilometres wide. A given town sees a total solar eclipse about once every 375 years on average.
What do total, annular, partial and penumbral mean?
Total: the Moon hides the whole Sun, or the Earth's shadow covers the whole Moon. Annular: the Moon is too small and leaves a ring of Sun. Partial: only part of the disc is covered. Penumbral: the Moon only crosses the pale outer shadow of the Earth, and the dimming is hard to see.
Updated November 11, 2026