On March 3, 2026, Earth will slide perfectly between the Sun and the Moon, plunging the Moon into our planet’s central shadow. As direct sunlight is blocked, only light filtered through Earth’s atmosphere reaches the lunar surface. The blues and greens are scattered away; the reds and oranges bend through, painting the Moon in haunting “blood moon” tones during totality.
This total phase will last 58 minutes and 19 seconds, embedded within several hours of partial and penumbral phases. It will be safely visible to the naked eye across wide regions of North America, eastern Asia, Australia, New Zealand, and the Pacific, wherever the Moon is above the horizon. No eclipse glasses are required; binoculars or a small telescope simply sharpen the view. As the only widely visible total lunar eclipse of 2026, it offers a rare, quiet moment to watch Earth’s own shadow slowly claim, then release, the Moon.
