Eclipses 2018

Retrograde windows run from the station-retrograde day to the station-direct day, both counted, in UTC — the same windows as the 2018 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 2018?

Total lunar: 31 Jan 2018, 11° Leo; Partial solar: 15 Feb 2018, 27° Aquarius; Partial solar: 13 Jul 2018, 20° Cancer; Total lunar: 27 Jul 2018, 4° Aquarius; Partial solar: 11 Aug 2018, 18° Leo. Times of greatest eclipse are on this page, in UTC.

02When is eclipse season in 2018?

17 Jan 2018 to 21 Feb 2018 (south node); 10 Jul 2018 to 16 Aug 2018 (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 2018 eclipses?

Total lunar eclipse on 31 Jan: No planet is retrograde that day. Partial solar eclipse on 15 Feb: No planet is retrograde that day. Partial solar eclipse on 13 Jul: Retrograde that day: Mars, Saturn, Neptune and Pluto. Total lunar eclipse on 27 Jul: Retrograde that day: Mercury, Mars, Saturn, Neptune and Pluto. It falls on day 2 of a 25-day Mercury retrograde. Partial solar eclipse on 11 Aug: Retrograde that day: Mercury, Mars, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune and Pluto. It falls on day 17 of a 25-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.