Eclipses 2021

Retrograde windows run from the station-retrograde day to the station-direct day, both counted, in UTC — the same windows as the 2021 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 2021?

Total lunar: 26 May 2021, 5° Sagittarius; Annular solar: 10 Jun 2021, 19° Gemini; Partial lunar: 19 Nov 2021, 27° Taurus; Total solar: 4 Dec 2021, 12° Sagittarius. Times of greatest eclipse are on this page, in UTC.

02When is eclipse season in 2021?

13 May 2021 to 19 Jun 2021 (north node); 5 Nov 2021 to 11 Dec 2021 (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 2021 eclipses?

Total lunar eclipse on 26 May: Retrograde that day: Saturn and Pluto. Annular solar eclipse on 10 Jun: Retrograde that day: Mercury, Saturn and Pluto. It falls on day 13 of a 25-day Mercury retrograde. Partial lunar eclipse on 19 Nov: Retrograde that day: Uranus and Neptune. Total solar eclipse on 4 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.