There are two eclipse seasons in 2026. The first will occur in February–March, and the second will occur in August.
Eclipse seasons in 2026
First eclipse season (February–March 2026)
The first eclipse season will be in February–March 2026, featuring an annular solar eclipse on February 17 and a total lunar eclipse on March 3.
The annular solar eclipse on February 17 will be visible from Antarctica, while its partial phase will be visible from southern Argentina, southern Chile, and southeastern Africa. The eclipse will begin on February 17, 2026, at 09:56 UTC.
The total lunar eclipse on March 3 will be visible from eastern Asia, Australia, the Pacific, and the Americas. The eclipse will begin on March 3, 2026, at 08:44 UTC.
Second eclipse season (August 2026)
The second eclipse season will be in August 2026, featuring a total solar eclipse on August 12 and a partial lunar eclipse on August 28.
The total solar eclipse on August 12 will be visible from the Arctic, Greenland, Iceland, and Spain, while its partial phase will be visible from the United States, Canada, western Africa, and Europe. The eclipse will begin on August 12, 2026, at 15:34 UTC.
The partial lunar eclipse on August 28 will be visible from the Americas, Europe, and Africa. The eclipse will begin on August 28, 2026, at 01:23 UTC.
What is an eclipse season?
An eclipse season is a roughly 34-day period that occurs about every 173 days (slightly less than six months) when the sun, moon, and Earth align in the same plane, allowing lunar and solar eclipses to occur.
When a full moon occurs during an eclipse season, the moon travels through Earth’s shadow, creating a lunar eclipse. When a new moon occurs during an eclipse season, the moon’s shadow falls on Earth, creating a solar eclipse.
Why does an eclipse season last about 34 days?
The moon’s orbit around Earth is tilted about 5.1° relative to Earth’s orbit around the sun. As a result, the two orbits intersect at two points called nodes. If a new moon or full moon occurs within about 17° of a node, then an eclipse occurs.
The sun takes 365.24 days to make one complete circuit of the ecliptic—the yearly path the sun follows across the sky. Therefore, its average angular velocity is 0.99° per day. At this rate, the sun takes 34.3 days to cross the 34° wide eclipse zone centered on each node.
As the sun takes 34.3 days to pass through the nodal eclipse zones, an eclipse season lasts about 34 days.
An eclipse season occurs about every 173 days, as the sun takes 173.3 days to travel from one node to the next. This period is slightly less than half a calendar year because the lunar nodes slowly regress westward by 19.3° per year.
How many eclipses occur during an eclipse season?
Since a lunar month (the period between two successive new moons or two successive full moons) is about 29.5 days long, at least one solar eclipse and one lunar eclipse are inevitable in an eclipse season.
However, sometimes three eclipses can occur in an eclipse season. If a full moon occurs at the beginning of an eclipse season, the sequence will be lunar–solar–lunar. However, if a new moon occurs at the beginning of an eclipse season, the sequence will be solar–lunar–solar.
When will three eclipses occur in an eclipse season?
The next eclipse season with three eclipses will occur in July–August 2027. It will feature a penumbral lunar eclipse on July 18, a total solar eclipse on August 2 and a penumbral lunar eclipse on August 17.
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