A total lunar eclipse occurred on 26 May 2021. A lunar eclipse occurs when the

Moon The Moon is Earth's only natural satellite. It is the fifth largest satellite in the Solar System and the largest and most massive relative to its parent planet, with a diameter about one-quarter that of Earth (comparable to the width of ...

moves into the Earth's shadow. This can occur only when the

Sun The Sun is the star at the center of the Solar System. It is a nearly perfect ball of hot plasma, heated to incandescence by nuclear fusion reactions in its core. The Sun radiates this energy mainly as light, ultraviolet, and infrared radi ...

, Earth, and Moon are exactly or very closely aligned (in syzygy) with Earth between the other two, which can only happen at a

full moon The full moon is the lunar phase when the Moon appears fully illuminated from Earth's perspective. This occurs when Earth is located between the Sun and the Moon (when the ecliptic longitudes of the Sun and Moon differ by 180°). This means ...

. The eclipsed moon appeared as a faint red disk in the sky due to a small amount of light being refracted through the earth's atmosphere; this appearance gives a lunar eclipse its nickname of a Blood Moon. It was the first total lunar eclipse since the

January 2019 lunar eclipse A total lunar eclipse occurred on 21 January 2019 UTC (Coordinated Universal Time). For observers in the Americas, the eclipse took place between the evening of Sunday, 20 January and the early morning hours of Monday, 21 January. For observers ...

, and the first in a series of an ''almost tetrad'' (with four consecutive total or deep partial lunar eclipses). The next total eclipse occurred in May 2022. The event took place near lunar

perigee An apsis (; ) is the farthest or nearest point in the orbit of a planetary body about its primary body. For example, the apsides of the Earth are called the aphelion and perihelion. General description There are two apsides in any ell ...

; as a result, this

supermoon A supermoon is a full moon or a new moon that nearly coincides with perigee—the closest that the Moon comes to the Earth in its elliptic orbit—resulting in a slightly larger-than-usual Angular diameter, apparent size of the lunar disk as v ...

was referred to in US media coverage as a "super flower blood moon", and elsewhere as a "super blood moon". It was followed two weeks later by an annular solar eclipse on 10 June 2021 over the northern polar regions of

Earth Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to harbor life. While large volumes of water can be found throughout the Solar System, only Earth sustains liquid surface water. About 71% of Earth's surfa ...

. This lunar eclipse was the first of an ''almost tetrad'', the others being 19 Nov 2021 (P), 16 May 2022 (T) and 08 Nov 2022 (T).

Visibility

The total lunar eclipse was visible over the

Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the contin ...

Oceania Oceania (, , ) is a geographical region that includes Australasia, Melanesia, Micronesia, and Polynesia. Spanning the Eastern and Western hemispheres, Oceania is estimated to have a land area of and a population of around 44.5 million ...

, and

Antarctica Antarctica () is Earth's southernmost and least-populated continent. Situated almost entirely south of the Antarctic Circle and surrounded by the Southern Ocean, it contains the geographic South Pole. Antarctica is the fifth-largest contine ...

in its entirety. Observers located in southern and eastern

Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an area ...

saw the eclipse at moonrise, whilst observers located in western

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...

and western

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the southe ...

saw the eclipse at moonset.

Contact timing

Local times are recomputed here for the

time zone A time zone is an area which observes a uniform standard time for legal, Commerce, commercial and social purposes. Time zones tend to follow the boundaries between Country, countries and their Administrative division, subdivisions instead of ...

s of the areas where the eclipse was visible: Lunar eclipse contact diagram

Observations

File:View from the Cove Overlook Rest Area, Keyser's Ridge, Garrett, Maryland, May 26, 2021 156.jpg,

Garrett County, Maryland Garrett County () is the westernmost county of the U.S. state of Maryland. As of the 2020 census, the population was 28,806, making it the third-least populous county in Maryland. Its county seat is Oakland. The county was named for John Work ...

, 9:43 UTC File:Partial lunar eclipse may26-2021-minneapolis-tlr1.jpg,

Minneapolis Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. Minneapolis has its origins ...

, Minnesota, 10:19 UTC File:Incomplete lunar eclipse 10.52pm 26 May 2021 Berwick Forest NZ.jpg,

Berwick Forest, New Zealand Berwick Forest is a large ''Pinus radiata'' (Pine) plantation at Berwick in New Zealand, around 40 km west of Dunedin. The forest lies close to the banks of the Waipori River immediately below and around the western end of Lake Mahinerang ...

, 10:52 UTC File:Taiwan Taoyuan.jpg, Taoyuan, Taiwan, 11:02 UTC File:Total Lunar Eclipse 2021-05-26, Near Totality (2).jpg,

Banyuwangi Banyuwangi, previously known as Banjoewangi, is the administrative capital of Banyuwangi Regency at the far eastern end of the island of Java, Indonesia. It had a population of 106,000 at the 2010 Census and 117,558 at the 2020 Census. The town ...

, Indonesia, 11:03 UTC File:Lunar Eclipse 2021 Canberra.jpg,

Canberra Canberra ( ) is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The ci ...

, Australia, 11:11 UTC File:Lunar Eclipse in cloudy skies 2. .jpg,

Manila Manila ( , ; fil, Maynila, ), officially the City of Manila ( fil, Lungsod ng Maynila, ), is the capital of the Philippines, and its second-most populous city. It is highly urbanized and, as of 2019, was the world's most densely populate ...

, Philippines, 11:13 UTC File:5 26 2021 Lunar Eclipse from Laguna, Philippines at 1915 local time.jpg,

Laguna Laguna (Italian and Spanish for lagoon) may refer to: People * Abe Laguna (born 1992), American DJ known as Ookay * Andrés Laguna (1499–1559), Spanish physician, pharmacologist, and botanist * Ana Laguna (born 1955), Spanish-Swedish ballet d ...

, Philippines, 11:15 UTC File:Blood Moon (51203510962) (cropped).jpg,

Geelong, Victoria Geelong ( ) (Wathawurrung: ''Djilang''/''Djalang'') is a port city in the southeastern Australian state of Victoria, located at the eastern end of Corio Bay (the smaller western portion of Port Phillip Bay) and the left bank of Barwon River, a ...

, 11:23 UTC File:Lunar Eclipse Tarlac City Philippines 2021.jpg,

Tarlac Tarlac, officially the Province of Tarlac ( pam, Lalawigan ning Tarlac; pag, Luyag/Probinsia na Tarlac; ilo, Probinsia ti Tarlac; tgl, Lalawigan ng Tarlac; ), is a landlocked province in the Philippines located in the Central Luzon region. It ...

, Philippines, 11:32 UTC File:May 26 Lunar Eclipse Kediri.jpg, Kediri, Indonesia, 11:32 UTC File:26-05-2021 Lunar Eclipse from eastern Magetan, East Java, Indonesia.jpg,

Magetan Magetan Regency is a regency ''(kabupaten)'' of East Java Province, Indonesia. It is an inland regency, and lies in the west of the province, adjoining Central Java Province. It covers an area of 668.84 km2 and had a population of 620,442 at the 2 ...

, Indonesia, 11:34 UTC File:Lunar Eclipse May 2021 NSW (1).jpg,

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

, Australia, 12:01 UTC File:Lunar Eclipse May 2021 NSW (2).jpg,

, Australia, 12:21 UTC File:Lunar Eclipse of May 26, 2021.jpg,

Chennai Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras ( the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. The largest city of the state in area and population, Chennai is located on the Coromandel Coast of th ...

, India, 13:27 UTC

Related eclipses

Eclipses of 2021

* A total lunar eclipse on 26 May * An annular solar eclipse on 10 June * A

partial lunar eclipse A lunar eclipse occurs when the Moon moves into the Earth's shadow. Such alignment occurs during an eclipse season, approximately every six months, during the full moon phase, when the Moon's orbital plane is closest to the plane of the Earth ...

on 19 November * A

total solar eclipse A solar eclipse occurs when the Moon passes between Earth and the Sun, thereby obscuring the view of the Sun from a small part of the Earth, totally or partially. Such an alignment occurs during an eclipse season, approximately every six month ...

on 4 December

Lunar year series

Saros series

This eclipse was the 55th eclipse and final total eclipse of

Saros cycle The saros () is a period of exactly 223 synodic months, approximately 6585.3211 days, or 18 years, 10, 11, or 12 days (depending on the number of leap years), and 8 hours, that can be used to predict eclipses of the Sun and Moon. One saros period ...

121.

Metonic series

First eclipse: May 26, 2002 Second eclipse: May 26, 2021. Third eclipse: May 26, 2040. Fourth eclipse: May 27, 2059.

Tzolkinex

* Preceded: Lunar eclipse of April 15, 2014 * Followed: Lunar eclipse of July 6, 2028

Half-Saros cycle

A lunar eclipse will be preceded and followed by solar eclipses by 9 years and 5.5 days (a half saros).Mathematical Astronomy Morsels, Jean Meeus, p.110, Chapter 18, ''The half-saros'' This lunar eclipse is related to two annular solar eclipses of

Solar Saros 128 Saros cycle series 128 for solar eclipse A solar eclipse occurs when the Moon passes between Earth and the Sun, thereby obscuring the view of the Sun from a small part of the Earth, totally or partially. Such an alignment occurs during an ...

Notes

References

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