Eclipses 2011

Retrograde windows run from the station-retrograde day to the station-direct day, both counted, in UTC — the same windows as the 2011 retrograde calendar.

Eclipses and times of greatest eclipse are computed with astronomy-engine and checked against NASA’s eclipse catalog; see the method.

01When are the eclipses in 2011?

Partial solar: 4 Jan 2011, 13° Capricorn; Partial solar: 1 Jun 2011, 11° Gemini; Total lunar: 15 Jun 2011, 24° Sagittarius; Partial solar: 1 Jul 2011, 9° Cancer; Partial solar: 25 Nov 2011, 2° Sagittarius; Total lunar: 10 Dec 2011, 18° Gemini. Times of greatest eclipse are on this page, in UTC.

02When is eclipse season in 2011?

6 Dec 2010 to 11 Jan 2011 (north node); 27 May 2011 to 3 Jul 2011 (south node); 18 Nov 2011 to 24 Dec 2011 (north node). A season here is every UTC day on which the Sun stands within 18.5° of one of the Moon’s nodes.

03Which planets were retrograde during the 2011 eclipses?

Partial solar eclipse on 4 Jan: No planet is retrograde that day. Partial solar eclipse on 1 Jun: Retrograde that day: Saturn and Pluto. Total lunar eclipse on 15 Jun: Retrograde that day: Neptune and Pluto. Partial solar eclipse on 1 Jul: Retrograde that day: Neptune and Pluto. Partial solar eclipse on 25 Nov: Retrograde that day: Mercury, Jupiter and Uranus. It falls on day 2 of a 21-day Mercury retrograde. Total lunar eclipse on 10 Dec: Retrograde that day: Mercury, Jupiter and Uranus. It falls on day 17 of a 21-day Mercury retrograde.

04What is an eclipse season?

The Moon’s orbit is tilted about five degrees to the Sun’s path, so most new and full moons pass above or below the Sun or Earth’s shadow. Twice a year, for about five weeks, the Sun stands near one of the two points where the orbits cross, the nodes; any new or full moon then is close enough to the node to cast or catch a shadow. Every season has at least two eclipses, a solar and a lunar, and sometimes three.