SEASON I · SOUTH NODE
12 Mar – 18 Apr 2015
38 days on which the Sun stands within 18.5° of the Moon’s south node, at 9° Aries mid-season. Retrograde during it: Jupiter (28 days), Saturn (36 days) and Pluto (2 days).
Eclipses 2015
Four eclipses fell in 2015, in two eclipse seasons: total solar eclipse on 20 Mar, total lunar eclipse on 4 Apr, partial solar eclipse on 13 Sep and total lunar eclipse on 28 Sep. Mercury was retrograde at the total lunar eclipse on 28 Sep.
Eclipses4
Solar · lunar2 · 2
Seasons2
Retrograde in a season7 of 8
Eclipse seasons on the zodiac · 2015
Each wedge spans 18.5° either side of the lunar node the Sun passes in that season, drawn at the node’s place mid-season: the nodes slide back about 19° a year. Solar eclipses sit on the outer ring at the Sun’s longitude, lunar ones on the inner ring at the Moon’s.
Where the seasons meet the retrogrades
Seven of eight planets were retrograde in an eclipse season.
Eclipse seasonRetrogradeRetrograde inside a season
Total solarPartial solarTotal lunar
Retrograde windows run from the station-retrograde day to the station-direct day, both counted, in UTC — the same windows as the 2015 retrograde calendar.
The seasons of 2015
SEASON II · NORTH NODE
5 Sep – 12 Oct 2015
38 days on which the Sun stands within 18.5° of the Moon’s north node, at 0° Libra mid-season. Retrograde during it: Mercury (23 days), Venus (2 days), Uranus (the whole season), Neptune (the whole season) and Pluto (21 days).
- Partial solar20° Virgo · Partial everywhere: the Moon’s umbra misses Earth.Retrograde that day: Uranus, Neptune and Pluto.NASA map13 Sep 201506:54 UTC
- Total lunar4° Aries · Totality lasts 72 minutes, inside 200 minutes in the umbra.Retrograde that day: Mercury, Uranus and Neptune. It falls on day 12 of a 23-day Mercury retrograde.NASA map28 Sep 201502:47 UTC
Eclipses and times of greatest eclipse are computed with astronomy-engine and checked against NASA’s eclipse catalog; see the method.
Questions
- 01When are the eclipses in 2015?
- Total solar: 20 Mar 2015, 29° Pisces; Total lunar: 4 Apr 2015, 14° Libra; Partial solar: 13 Sep 2015, 20° Virgo; Total lunar: 28 Sep 2015, 4° Aries. Times of greatest eclipse are on this page, in UTC.
- 02When is eclipse season in 2015?
- 12 Mar 2015 to 18 Apr 2015 (south node); 5 Sep 2015 to 12 Oct 2015 (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 2015 eclipses?
- Total solar eclipse on 20 Mar: Retrograde that day: Jupiter and Saturn. Total lunar eclipse on 4 Apr: Retrograde that day: Jupiter and Saturn. Partial solar eclipse on 13 Sep: Retrograde that day: Uranus, Neptune and Pluto. Total lunar eclipse on 28 Sep: Retrograde that day: Mercury, Uranus and Neptune. It falls on day 12 of a 23-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.
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