| Type: | total |
| Date: | May 26, 2021 |
| Gamma: | 0.4774 |
| Magnitude: | 1.0112 |
| Saros Ser: | 121 |
| Saros No: | 55 of 82 |
| Totality: | 14 minutes, 30 seconds |
| Partiality: | 187 minutes, 25 seconds |
| Penumbral: | 302 minutes, 2 seconds |
| P1: | 8:47:39 |
| U1: | 9:44:57 |
| U2: | 11:11:25 |
| Greatest: | 11:18:40 |
| U3: | 11:25:55 |
| U4: | 12:52:22 |
| P4: | 13:49:41 |
| Previous: | November 2020 |
| Next: | November 2021 |
A total lunar eclipse occurred at the Moon’s descending node of orbit on Wednesday, May 26, 2021,[1] with an umbral magnitude of 1.0112. A lunar eclipse occurs when the Moon moves into the Earth's shadow, causing the Moon to be darkened. A total lunar eclipse occurs when the Moon's near side entirely passes into the Earth's umbral shadow. Unlike a solar eclipse, which can only be viewed from a relatively small area of the world, a lunar eclipse may be viewed from anywhere on the night side of Earth. A total lunar eclipse can last up to nearly two hours, while a total solar eclipse lasts only a few minutes at any given place, because the Moon's shadow is smaller. Occurring only about 14 hours after perigee (on May 25, 2021, at 21:50 UTC), the Moon's apparent diameter was larger.[2]
It was the first total lunar eclipse since the January 2019 lunar eclipse, and the first in a series of an almost tetrad (with four consecutive total or deep partial lunar eclipses).[3] The next total eclipse occurred in May 2022. The event took place near lunar perigee; as a result, this supermoon was referred to in US media coverage as a "super flower blood moon",[4] [5] and elsewhere as a "super blood moon".[6] [7]
This lunar eclipse was the first of an almost tetrad, with the others being on November 19, 2021 (partial); May 16, 2022 (total); and November 8, 2022 (total).
The eclipse was completely visible over Australia and the central Pacific Ocean, seen rising over south and east Asia and setting over North and South America.[8]
Local times are recomputed here for the time zones of the areas where the eclipse was visible:
| Time Zone adjustments from UTC | +8h | +10h | +12h | -10h | -8h | -7h | -6h | -5h | -4h | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AWST | AEST | NZST | HST | AKDT | PDT | MDT | CDT | EDT | |||
| Event | Evening 26 May / Morning 27 May | Morning 26 May | |||||||||
| P1 | Penumbral began | 4:48 pm | 6:48 pm | 8:48 pm | 10:48 pm | 12:48 am | 1:48 am | 2:48 am | 3:48 am | 4:48 am | |
| U1 | Partial began | 5:45 pm | 7:45 pm | 9:45 pm | 11:45 pm | 1:45 am | 2:45 am | 3:45 am | 4:45 am | 5:16 am | |
| U2 | Total began | 7:11 pm | 9:11 pm | 11:11 pm | 1:11 am | 3:11 am | 4:11 am | 5:11 am | 6:11 am | Set | |
| Greatest eclipse | 7:19 pm | 9:19 pm | 11:19 pm | 1:19 am | 3:19 am | 4:19 am | 5:19 am | 6:19 am | Set | ||
| U3 | Total ended | 7:26 pm | 9:26 pm | 11:26 pm | 1:26 am | 3:26 am | 4:26 am | 5:26 am | Set | Set | |
| U4 | Partial ended | 8:52 pm | 10:52 pm | 12:52 am | 2:52 am | 4:52 am | Set | Set | Set | Set | |
| P4 | Penumbral ended | 9:50 pm | 11:50 pm | 1:50 am | 3:50 am | 5:50 am | Set | Set | Set | Set | |
Shown below is a table displaying details about this particular solar eclipse. It describes various parameters pertaining to this eclipse.[9]
| Penumbral Magnitude | 1.95575 | |
| Umbral Magnitude | 1.01120 | |
| Gamma | 0.47741 | |
| Sun Right Ascension | 04h14m03.6s | |
| Sun Declination | +21°12'25.4" | |
| Sun Semi-Diameter | 15'47.3" | |
| Sun Equatorial Horizontal Parallax | 08.7" | |
| Moon Right Ascension | 16h14m37.8s | |
| Moon Declination | -20°44'15.0" | |
| Moon Semi-Diameter | 16'42.9" | |
| Moon Equatorial Horizontal Parallax | 1°01'20.5" | |
| ΔT | 70.0 s |
See also: Eclipse cycle. This eclipse is part of an eclipse season, a period, roughly every six months, when eclipses occur. Only two (or occasionally three) eclipse seasons occur each year, and each season lasts about 35 days and repeats just short of six months (173 days) later; thus two full eclipse seasons always occur each year. Either two or three eclipses happen each eclipse season. In the sequence below, each eclipse is separated by a fortnight.
This eclipse was the 55th eclipse and final total eclipse of Saros cycle 121.[10]
First eclipse: May 26, 2002Second eclipse: May 26, 2021.Third eclipse: May 26, 2040.Fourth eclipse: May 27, 2059.
A lunar eclipse will be preceded and followed by solar eclipses by 9 years and 5.5 days (a half saros).[11] This lunar eclipse is related to two annular solar eclipses of Solar Saros 128.