Eclipses 2017

Retrograde windows run from the station-retrograde day to the station-direct day, both counted, in UTC — the same windows as the 2017 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 2017?

Penumbral lunar: 11 Feb 2017, 22° Leo; Annular solar: 26 Feb 2017, 8° Pisces; Partial lunar: 7 Aug 2017, 15° Aquarius; Total solar: 21 Aug 2017, 28° Leo. Times of greatest eclipse are on this page, in UTC.

02When is eclipse season in 2017?

4 Feb 2017 to 11 Mar 2017 (south node); 29 Jul 2017 to 4 Sep 2017 (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 2017 eclipses?

Penumbral lunar eclipse on 11 Feb: Retrograde that day: Jupiter. Annular solar eclipse on 26 Feb: Retrograde that day: Jupiter. Partial lunar eclipse on 7 Aug: Retrograde that day: Saturn, Uranus, Neptune and Pluto. Total solar eclipse on 21 Aug: Retrograde that day: Mercury, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune and Pluto. It falls on day 9 of a 24-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.