A total eclipse of the Moon occurred on Monday 16 May, 2022 UT, lasting from 01:32–06:50 UT. The Moon was plunged into darkness for 1 hour and 25 minutes, in a deep total eclipse which saw the Moon 41% of its diameter inside the Earth's umbral shadow. The visual effect of this depends on the state of the Earth's atmosphere, but the Moon may have been stained a deep red colour for observers in the Americas, western Europe, and most of Africa. The partial eclipse lasted for 3 hours and 27 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: 01:32:07 UT
Partial eclipse began: 02:27:53 UT
Total eclipse began: 03:29:03 UT
Maximum eclipse: 04:11:29 UT
Total eclipse ended: 04:53:56 UT
Partial eclipse ended: 05:55:07 UT
Penumbral eclipse ended: 06:50:48 UT

During this eclipse the Moon was just a day before perigee, making it very large. At maximum eclipse it was 0.559° in apparent diameter, which is 5.3% larger 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.

UK

Observers in the UK will have an interesting spectacle as the Moon sets in total eclipse. This opens up the possibility of capturing a fascinating picture of the eclipsed Moon setting beside some interesting landmark. Bear in mind, though, that the eclipsed Moon is extremely dim. Also, the full Moon sets just around dawn, so you will need to be up early!

This table shows a representative sample of moonset times for the UK and Ireland. For each location, the azimuth (bearing) of the setting Moon is shown. Bear in mind that this is where the Moon will be when it is exactly on the horizon, where it might not be easily visible; so the azimuth 1 hour prior to that is also shown. Even at this point, the moon will be just 5 or 6 degrees above the horizon, and even this time is before the total eclipse actually starts. So you will need a very clear view of the horizon.

Place Moonset Azimuth - 1 hour
Dover 04:06 UT 238° 226°
Poole 04:21 UT 238° 227°
Manchester 04:11 UT 236° 224°
Edinburgh 04:02 UT 233° 221°
Dublin 04:28 UT 236° 224°
Belfast 04:20 UT 235° 223°
Inverness 03:58 UT 232° 219°

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)
https://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/eclipse.html
shows the visibility of the eclipse. (Click on it for the full-sized version.)

Eclipse Season and Saros Series

This eclipse season contains 2 eclipses:

This was the 34th eclipse in lunar Saros series 131.The surrounding eclipses in this Saros series are:

This Saros series, lunar Saros series 131, is linked to solar Saros series 138. The nearest partner eclipses in that series are:

Eclipse Parameters

UT Date/time (max) 04:11:29 on 16 May UT TDT Date/time (max) 04:12:42 on 16 May TDT
Saros Series 131 Number in Series 34
Penumbral Magnitiude 2.3726 Central Magnitiude 1.4137
Gamma -0.2532 Path Width (km)
Delta T 1m13s Error ± 0m07s (95%)
Penumbral Duration 5h19m Partial Duration 3h27m
Total Duration 1h25m
Partial Rating Total Rating
Sun Distance 151237066 km (85.7%) Moon Distance 362131 km (11.4%)
Sun Diameter 0.527° Moon Diameter 0.550° - 0.559°
Apogee 12:46 on 5 May UT Perigee 15:24 on 17 May UT
Contact p1 01:32:07 on 16 May UT Contact p2
Contact u1 02:27:53 on 16 May UT Contact u2 03:29:03 on 16 May UT
Max eclipse 04:11:29 on 16 May UT
Contact u3 04:53:56 on 16 May UT Contact u4 05:55:07 on 16 May UT
Contact p3 Contact p4 06:50:48 on 16 May 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)
https://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/eclipse.html
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: 2022-02-17 09:49:29 UTC.