During the 21st century, there will be 228
lunar eclipse
A lunar eclipse is an astronomical event that occurs when the Moon moves into the Earth's shadow, causing the Moon to be darkened. Such an alignment occurs during an eclipse season, approximately every six months, during the full moon phase, ...
s of which 86 will be
penumbral
The umbra, penumbra and antumbra are three distinct parts of a shadow, created by any light source after impinging on an opaque object of lesser size. In cases of equal or smaller impinging objects, only an umbra and penumba are generated. As ...
, 57 will be partial and 85 will be total. Of the total eclipses, 24 will be central,
in the sense that the Moon will pass through the very center (axis) of the Earth's shadow (for more information see
gamma
Gamma (; uppercase , lowercase ; ) is the third letter of the Greek alphabet. In the system of Greek numerals it has a value of 3. In Ancient Greek, the letter gamma represented a voiced velar stop . In Modern Greek, this letter normally repr ...
).
In the 21st century, the greatest number of eclipses in one year is four, in 2009, 2020, 2038, 2056, 2085, and 2096. The predictions given here are by
Fred Espenak
Fred Espenak (August 1, 1953 – June 1, 2025) was an American astrophysicist. He worked at the Goddard Space Flight Center and published extensively on eclipse predictions.
Career
Espenak became interested in astronomy when he was 7–8 year ...
of
NASA
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the federal government of the United States, US federal government responsible for the United States ...
's
Goddard Space Flight Center
The Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) is a major NASA space research laboratory located approximately northeast of Washington, D.C., in Greenbelt, Maryland, United States. Established on May 1, 1959, as NASA's first space flight center, GSFC ...
.
The longest measured duration in which the Earth completely covered the Moon, known as
totality, was during the
lunar eclipse of July 27, 2018. This total lunar eclipse had a maximum duration of 1 hour, 42 minutes, and 57 seconds. The longest possible duration of a total lunar eclipse is 1 hour and 47 minutes.

The table contains the date and time of the greatest eclipse (in
dynamical time, which in this case is the time when the axis of the Earth's shadow passes over the Moon; this is in (Ephemeris Time). The number of the
saros series that the eclipse belongs to is given, followed by the type of the eclipse (either total, partial or penumbral), the
gamma of the eclipse (how centrally the Moon passed through the Earth's shadow), and both the penumbral and umbral
magnitude of the eclipse (the fraction of the Moon's diameter obscured by the Earth). For each eclipse, the duration of the eclipse is given, as well as the eclipse's contacts (the points at which the Moon reaches and exits the Earth's penumbra and umbra).
Eclipses are listed in sets by
lunar year
A lunar calendar is a calendar based on the monthly cycles of the Moon's phases (synodic months, lunations), in contrast to solar calendars, whose annual cycles are based on the solar year, and lunisolar calendars, whose lunar months are brought ...
s, repeating every 12 months for each node. Ascending node eclipses are given a red background highlight, and descending node eclipses are given a blue background highlight.
Eclipses
See Also
*
Lists of lunar eclipses
*
Lunar eclipses by century
This article gives statistics for lunar eclipses grouped by century. Detailed information about tetrads, timing, and other facts can be found at the linked references.
General statistics
In the 5,000 years from 2000 BC to 3000 AD, there will be a ...
*
List of lunar eclipses in the 19th century
*
List of lunar eclipses in the 20th century
*
List of lunar eclipses in the 22nd century
References
This list was compiled with data calculated by
Fred Espenak
Fred Espenak (August 1, 1953 – June 1, 2025) was an American astrophysicist. He worked at the Goddard Space Flight Center and published extensively on eclipse predictions.
Career
Espenak became interested in astronomy when he was 7–8 year ...
of
NASA
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the federal government of the United States, US federal government responsible for the United States ...
's
GSFC
The Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) is a major NASA space research laboratory located approximately northeast of Washington, D.C., in Greenbelt, Maryland, United States. Established on May 1, 1959, as NASA's first space flight center, GSFC ...
.
Bibliography
{{DEFAULTSORT:21st-Century Lunar Eclipses
*
Lunar eclipses
A lunar eclipse is an astronomical event that occurs when the Moon moves into the Earth's shadow, causing the Moon to be darkened. Such an alignment occurs during an eclipse season, approximately every six months, during the full moon phase ...
Lunar eclipses
A lunar eclipse is an astronomical event that occurs when the Moon moves into the Earth's shadow, causing the Moon to be darkened. Such an alignment occurs during an eclipse season, approximately every six months, during the full moon phase ...
Science timelines
Lunar eclipses by time