Eclipses 2023

Retrograde windows run from the station-retrograde day to the station-direct day, both counted, in UTC — the same windows as the 2023 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 2023?

Hybrid solar: 20 Apr 2023, 29° Aries; Penumbral lunar: 5 May 2023, 14° Scorpio; Annular solar: 14 Oct 2023, 21° Libra; Partial lunar: 28 Oct 2023, 5° Taurus. Times of greatest eclipse are on this page, in UTC.

02When is eclipse season in 2023?

6 Apr 2023 to 13 May 2023 (north node); 30 Sep 2023 to 5 Nov 2023 (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 2023 eclipses?

Hybrid solar eclipse on 20 Apr: No planet is retrograde that day. Penumbral lunar eclipse on 5 May: Retrograde that day: Mercury and Pluto. It falls on day 15 of a 25-day Mercury retrograde. Annular solar eclipse on 14 Oct: Retrograde that day: Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune. Partial lunar eclipse on 28 Oct: Retrograde that day: Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune.

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.