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Eclipses 2020

Six eclipses fell in 2020, in three eclipse seasons: penumbral lunar eclipse on 10 Jan, penumbral lunar eclipse on 5 Jun, annular solar eclipse on 21 Jun, penumbral lunar eclipse on 5 Jul, penumbral lunar eclipse on 30 Nov and total solar eclipse on 14 Dec. Mercury was retrograde at two of them.

♈︎♉︎♊︎♋︎♌︎♍︎♎︎♏︎♐︎♑︎♒︎♓︎☋︎☊︎☋︎10 JAN5 JUN21 JUN5 JUL30 NOV14 DECNODES · 2020
Eclipses6
Solar · lunar2 · 4
Seasons3
Retrograde in a season7 of 8
Eclipse seasons on the zodiac · 2020

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.

SEASON ISEASON IISEASON IIIECLIPSESMERCURYVENUSMARSJUPITERSATURNURANUSNEPTUNEPLUTOJANFEBMARAPRMAYJUNJULAUGSEPOCTNOVDEC
Eclipse seasonRetrogradeRetrograde inside a season
Total solarAnnular solarPenumbral lunar

Retrograde windows run from the station-retrograde day to the station-direct day, both counted, in UTC — the same windows as the 2020 retrograde calendar.

The seasons of 2020

SEASON I · SOUTH NODE

12 Dec 2019 – 17 Jan 2020

37 days on which the Sun stands within 18.5° of the Moon’s south node, at 8° Capricorn mid-season. Retrograde during it: Uranus (31 days).

  • Annular solar4° Capricorn · Greatest eclipse at 1.0° N, 102.3° E; the Moon covers 94% of the Sun.Retrograde that day: Uranus.NASA map
    26 Dec 201905:17 UTC
  • Penumbral lunar19° Cancer · Penumbral only: the Moon dims without entering the umbra, for 245 minutes.Retrograde that day: Uranus.NASA map
    10 Jan 202019:10 UTC

SEASON II · NORTH NODE

1 Jun – 8 Jul 2020

38 days on which the Sun stands within 18.5° of the Moon’s north node, at 29° Gemini mid-season. Retrograde during it: Mercury (21 days), Venus (25 days), Jupiter (the whole season), Saturn (the whole season), Neptune (16 days) and Pluto (the whole season).

  • Penumbral lunar15° Sagittarius · Penumbral only: the Moon dims without entering the umbra, for 198 minutes.Retrograde that day: Venus, Jupiter, Saturn and Pluto.NASA map
    5 Jun 202019:24 UTC
  • Annular solar0° Cancer · Greatest eclipse at 30.5° N, 79.7° E; the Moon covers 99% of the Sun.Retrograde that day: Mercury, Venus, Jupiter, Saturn and Pluto. It falls on day 4 of a 25-day Mercury retrograde.NASA map
    21 Jun 202006:40 UTC
  • Penumbral lunar13° Capricorn · Penumbral only: the Moon dims without entering the umbra, for 165 minutes.Retrograde that day: Mercury, Jupiter, Saturn, Neptune and Pluto. It falls on day 18 of a 25-day Mercury retrograde.NASA map
    5 Jul 202004:29 UTC

SEASON III · SOUTH NODE

23 Nov – 29 Dec 2020

37 days on which the Sun stands within 18.5° of the Moon’s south node, at 19° Sagittarius mid-season. Retrograde during it: Uranus (the whole season) and Neptune (7 days).

  • Penumbral lunar8° Gemini · Penumbral only: the Moon dims without entering the umbra, for 261 minutes.Retrograde that day: Uranus.NASA map
    30 Nov 202009:42 UTC
  • Total solar23° Sagittarius · Greatest eclipse at 40.3° S, 67.9° W.Retrograde that day: Uranus.NASA map
    14 Dec 202016:13 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 2020?
Penumbral lunar: 10 Jan 2020, 19° Cancer; Penumbral lunar: 5 Jun 2020, 15° Sagittarius; Annular solar: 21 Jun 2020, 0° Cancer; Penumbral lunar: 5 Jul 2020, 13° Capricorn; Penumbral lunar: 30 Nov 2020, 8° Gemini; Total solar: 14 Dec 2020, 23° Sagittarius. Times of greatest eclipse are on this page, in UTC.
02When is eclipse season in 2020?
12 Dec 2019 to 17 Jan 2020 (south node); 1 Jun 2020 to 8 Jul 2020 (north node); 23 Nov 2020 to 29 Dec 2020 (south 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 2020 eclipses?
Penumbral lunar eclipse on 10 Jan: Retrograde that day: Uranus. Penumbral lunar eclipse on 5 Jun: Retrograde that day: Venus, Jupiter, Saturn and Pluto. Annular solar eclipse on 21 Jun: Retrograde that day: Mercury, Venus, Jupiter, Saturn and Pluto. It falls on day 4 of a 25-day Mercury retrograde. Penumbral lunar eclipse on 5 Jul: Retrograde that day: Mercury, Jupiter, Saturn, Neptune and Pluto. It falls on day 18 of a 25-day Mercury retrograde. Penumbral lunar eclipse on 30 Nov: Retrograde that day: Uranus. Total solar eclipse on 14 Dec: Retrograde that day: 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.

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