Eclipses 2012

Retrograde windows run from the station-retrograde day to the station-direct day, both counted, in UTC — the same windows as the 2012 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 2012?

Annular solar: 20 May 2012, 0° Gemini; Partial lunar: 4 Jun 2012, 14° Sagittarius; Total solar: 13 Nov 2012, 21° Scorpio; Penumbral lunar: 28 Nov 2012, 6° Gemini. Times of greatest eclipse are on this page, in UTC.

02When is eclipse season in 2012?

7 May 2012 to 13 Jun 2012 (south node); 31 Oct 2012 to 5 Dec 2012 (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 2012 eclipses?

Annular solar eclipse on 20 May: Retrograde that day: Venus, Saturn and Pluto. Partial lunar eclipse on 4 Jun: Retrograde that day: Venus, Saturn, Neptune and Pluto. Total solar eclipse on 13 Nov: Retrograde that day: Mercury, Jupiter and Uranus. It falls on day 8 of a 21-day Mercury retrograde. Penumbral lunar eclipse on 28 Nov: Retrograde that day: Jupiter and Uranus.

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.