A total eclipse of the Moon occurred on Friday 27 July, 2018 UT, lasting from 17:14–23:28 UT. A dramatic total eclipse lasting 1 hour and 43 minutes plunged the full Moon into deep darkness, as it passed right through the centre of the Earth's umbral shadow. While the visual effect of a total eclipse is variable, the Moon may have been stained a deep orange or red colour at maximum eclipse. This was a great spectacle for everyone who saw it from Europe, Africa, Asia, and Australia. The partial eclipse lasted for 3 hours and 55 minutes in total.
The timings of the phases of the eclipse are as
follows. You would have been able to see each phase of the
eclipse if the Moon was up at the corresponding time as
seen from your location; however the penumbral phase
would have been very difficult to see in practice:
| Penumbral eclipse began: |
17:14:49 UT |
| Partial eclipse began: |
18:24:27 UT |
| Total eclipse began: |
19:30:15 UT |
| Maximum eclipse: |
20:21:43 UT |
| Total eclipse ended: |
21:13:12 UT |
| Partial eclipse ended: |
22:19:00 UT |
| Penumbral eclipse ended: |
23:28:37 UT |
During this eclipse the Moon was at apogee, making it very small.
At maximum eclipse it was 0.498° in apparent
diameter, which is 6.2% smaller than average.
The statistics page has information on the ranges of the sizes of
the Sun and Moon, and the Moon data page displays detailed
information on the Moon's key dates.
British Isles
In the British Isles, the Moon will rise in total eclipse. As a result, you will be able to see the total eclipse starting from whenever the Moon rises at your location, up to the end of the total eclipse as stated above.
This table shows a representative sample of moonrise times for the UK and Ireland:
| Place | Moonrise |
|---|
| Dover | 19:42 UT |
| Poole | 19:54 UT |
| Exeter | 20:00 UT |
| Manchester | 20:06 UT |
| Edinburgh | 20:22 UT |
| Dublin | 20:22 UT |
| Belfast | 20:27 UT |
| Inverness | 20:35 UT |
Bear in mind that to see the Moon as it rises, you will need a very clear view to the south-east. At Poole, the moon will rise at a bearing of 121°; at Inverness, 127°.
Interactive Map
This map shows the visibility of the eclipse at various stages.
The bright area in the middle saw the whole eclipse; the coloured
bands to the right saw the start of the eclipse, and those on the
left saw the end. Note that the map is approximate, and if you were
near the edge of the area of visibility, the moon was very close to the
horizon and may not have been practically visible.
You can use the zoom controls to zoom in and out, and pan to
see areas of interest. Hover your mouse over the
tags to see what was visible from each area on the map. The green
marker in the centre shows where the Moon was directly
overhead at maximum eclipse.
The interactive map is currently not available.
Overview Map
This map sourced from NASA Goddard Space flight Center: GSFC Eclipse Web SiteGSFC Eclipse Web Site
The primary source of all the information on eclipses presented here at Hermit Eclipse. (NASA Goddard Space flight Center)
shows the visibility of the eclipse. (Click on it for the
full-sized version.)
Eclipse Season and Saros Series
This eclipse season contains 3 eclipses:
This was the 38th eclipse in lunar Saros series 129.The surrounding eclipses in this Saros series are:
This Saros series, lunar Saros series 129,
is linked to solar Saros series 136. The
nearest partner eclipses in that series are:
Eclipse Parameters
| UT Date/time (max) | 20:21:43 on 27 Jul UT |
TDT Date/time (max) | 20:22:54 on 27 Jul TDT |
| Saros Series | 129 |
Number in Series | 38 |
| Penumbral Magnitiude | 2.6792 |
Central Magnitiude | 1.6087 |
| Gamma | 0.1168 |
Path Width (km) | |
| Delta T | 1m11s |
Error | ± 0m04s (95%) |
| Penumbral Duration | 6h14m |
Partial Duration | 3h55m |
| Total Duration | 1h43m |
| |
| Partial Rating | |
Total Rating | |
| Sun Distance | 151911843 km (99.6%) |
Moon Distance | 406091 km (98.8%) |
| Sun Diameter | 0.525° |
Moon Diameter | 0.490° - 0.498° |
| Apogee | 05:45 on 27 Jul UT |
Perigee | 18:06 on 10 Aug UT |
| Contact p1 | 17:14:49 on 27 Jul UT |
Contact p2 | |
| Contact u1 | 18:24:27 on 27 Jul UT |
Contact u2 | 19:30:15 on 27 Jul UT |
| Max eclipse | 20:21:43 on 27 Jul UT |
| Contact u3 | 21:13:12 on 27 Jul UT |
Contact u4 | 22:19:00 on 27 Jul UT |
| Contact p3 | |
Contact p4 | 23:28:37 on 27 Jul UT |
Note that while all dates and times on this site (except
where noted) are in UT, which is within a second of civil time,
the dates and times shown in NASA's eclipse listingsGSFC Eclipse Web Site
The primary source of all the information on eclipses presented here at Hermit Eclipse. (NASA Goddard Space flight Center)
are in the TDT timescale.
The Sun and Moon distances are shown in km, and as a
percentage of their minimum - maximum distances; hence 0%
is the closest possible (Earth's perihelion, or the
Moon's closest possible perigee) and 100% is
the farthest (aphelion, the farthest apogee).
The statistics page has information on the ranges of sizes
of the Sun and Moon, and the Moon data page displays detailed
information on the Moon's key dates.
Data last updated: 2018-07-16 15:31:07 UTC.
