Eclipses During 2026

By Fred Espenak
Based on the Article Published in Observer's Handbook 2026 , Royal Astronomical Society of Canada

In 2026, there are 2 solar eclipses and 2 lunar eclipses:

Eclipses During 2026
2026 Feb 17: Annular Solar Eclipse
2026 Mar 03: Total Lunar Eclipse
2026 Aug 12: Total Solar Eclipse
2026 Aug 28: Partial Lunar Eclipse
Eclipses During 2026
Annular Solar Eclipse
2026 Feb 17
 Total Lunar Eclipse
2026 Mar 03
 Total Solar Eclipse
2026 Aug 12
 Partial Lunar Eclipse
2026 Aug 28
World maps show the regions of visibility for each eclipse. The lunar eclipse diagrams also include the path of the Moon through Earth’s shadow. Contact times for each principal phase are tabulated along with the magnitudes and geocentric coordinates of the Sun and the Moon at greatest eclipse.

Unless otherwise stated, all times and dates used in this publication are in Universal Time or UT1 [1]. This astronomically derived time system is colloquially referred to as Greenwich Mean Time or GMT. To learn more about UT1 and how to convert UT1 to your own local time, see Time Zones and Universal Time.

eclipse map
Click for larger more detailed figure

Annular Solar Eclipse of 2026 Feb 17

Under Construction

Map of the eclipse (Figure 1).

Local circumstances for a number of cities are given in Table 1.

The 2026 Feb 17 Solar Eclipse Circumstances Calculator is an interactive web page that can quickly calculate the local circumstances for the eclipse from any geographic location not included in the table.

The path of the eclipse is plotted on an interactive map at Google Map of the 2026 Feb 17 Solar Eclipse . This map permits zooming and scrolling as desired. Clicking the cursor on any location calculates the eclipse circumstances for that location. For more information see Key to Google Eclipse Maps.

This is the xx th eclipse of Saros [6] series 121.

Complete details for the xx eclipses in the series may be found at Saros 121.

For more information about this eclipse, see the EclipseWise Prime Page at Annular Solar Eclipse of 2026 Feb 17.

eclipse map
Click for larger more detailed figure

Total Lunar Eclipse of 2026 Mar 03

Under Construction

Diagram and map of the eclipse (Figure 2).

Table 2 lists predicted umbral immersion and emersion times for 25 well-defined lunar craters. The timing of craters is useful in determining the atmospheric enlargement of Earth's shadow (see Crater Timings During Lunar Eclipses).

This is the xx th eclipse of Saros [6] series 133

Complete details for the xx eclipses in the series may be found at Saros 133.

For more information about this eclipse, see the EclipseWise Prime Page at Total Lunar Eclipse of 2026 Mar 03

eclipse map
Click for larger more detailed figure

Total Solar Eclipse of 2026 Aug 12

Under Construction

Map of the eclipse (Figure 3).

Local circumstances for a number of cities are given in Table 3.

The 2026 Aug 12 Solar Eclipse Circumstances Calculator is an interactive web page that can quickly calculate the local circumstances for the eclipse from any geographic location not included in the table.

The path of the eclipse is plotted on an interactive map at Google Map of the 2026 Aug 12 Solar Eclipse . This map permits zooming and scrolling as desired. Clicking the cursor on any location calculates the eclipse circumstances for that location. For more information see Key to Google Eclipse Maps.

This is the xx th eclipse of Saros [6] series 126.

Complete details for the xx eclipses in the series may be found at Saros 126.

For more information about this eclipse, see the EclipseWise Prime Page at Total Solar Eclipse of 2026 Aug 12.

eclipse map
Click for larger more detailed figure

Partial Lunar Eclipse of 2026 Aug 28

Under Construction

Diagram and map of the eclipse (Figure 4).

Table 4 lists predicted umbral immersion and emersion times for 25 well-defined lunar craters. The timing of craters is useful in determining the atmospheric enlargement of Earth's shadow (see Crater Timings During Lunar Eclipses).

This is the xx th eclipse of Saros [6] series 138

Complete details for the xx eclipses in the series may be found at Saros 138.

For more information about this eclipse, see the EclipseWise Prime Page at Partial Lunar Eclipse of 2026 Aug 28

Eclipse Altitudes and Azimuths

The altitude a and azimuth A of the Sun or Moon during an eclipse depend on the time and the observer's geographic coordinates. They are calculated as follows: 

         h = 15 (GST + UT - α ) + λ
         a = arcsin [sin δ sin φ + cos δ cos h cos φ]
         A = arctan [-(cos δ sin h)/(sin δ cos φ - cos δ cos h sin φ)]

where

         h = hour angle of Sun or Moon
         a = altitude
         A = azimuth
         GST = Greenwich Sidereal Time at 0:00 UT
         UT = Universal Time
         α = right ascension of Sun or Moon
         δ = declination of Sun or Moon
         λ = observer's longitude (east +, west -)
         φ = observer's latitude (north +, south -)

During the eclipses of 2026 , the values for GST and the geocentric Right Ascension and Declination of the Sun or the Moon (at greatest eclipse) are as follows: 

                  Eclipse               Date             GST          α            δ

                  Annular Solar        2026 Feb 17    9.833   22.065  -11.878
                  Total Lunar        2026 Mar 03   10.751   10.938    6.401
                  Total Solar        2026 Aug 12   21.413    9.496   14.801
                  Partial Lunar        2026 Aug 28   22.427   22.435   -9.301

Two web based tools that can also be used to calculate the local circumstances for all solar and lunar eclipses visible from any location. They are the Javascript Solar Eclipse Explorer and the Javascript Lunar Eclipse Explorer. The URLs for these tools are:

Javascript Solar Eclipse Explorer: www.EclipseWise.com/solar/JSEX/JSEX-index.html

Javascript Lunar Eclipse Explorer: www.EclipseWise.com/lunar/JLEX/JLEX-index.html

Eclipse Web Sites

EclipseWise.com is a website dedicated to predictions and information on eclipses of the Sun and Moon. It offers a graphically intuitive interface and contains maps, diagrams, tables, and information about every solar and lunar eclipse from 2000 BCE to 3000 CE. This period includes 11898 solar eclipses and 12064 lunar eclipses.

Much of EclipseWise.com is based on the Thousand Year Canon of Solar Eclipses 1501 to 2500 (Espenak 2014a) and the Thousand Year Canon of Lunar Eclipses 1501 to 2500 (Espenak 2014b). These eclipse predictions use the Jet Propulsion Lab's DE406 — a computer ephemeris used for calculating high precision coordinates of the Sun and Moon for thousands of years into the past and future.

For eclipses over a larger time interval see Five Millennium Canon of Solar Eclipses –1999 to +3000 and Five Millennium Canon of Lunar Eclipses –-1999 to +3000.

The World Atlas of Solar Eclipses provides maps of all central eclipse paths from 2000 BCE to 3000 CE.

MrEclipse.com targets solar and lunar eclipse photography, with tips on eclipse observing and eye safety.

Acknowledgments

All eclipse predictions were generated on a Macintosh G4 PowerPC using algorithms developed from the Explanatory Supplement [1974] with additional algorithms from Meeus, Grosjean, and Vanderleen [1966]. The solar and lunar coordinates used in the eclipse predictions are based on the JPL DE405. The difference between Terrestrial Time (TT) and Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) used in these predictions is 69.184 seconds (= 32.184 seconds plus 37 leap seconds).

For lunar eclipses, the elliptical shape of the umbral and penumbral shadows were calculated using Herald and Sinnott (2014) method of enlarging Earth's radius to compensate for the opacity of the terrestrial atmosphere (including corrections for the oblateness of Earth).

All calculations, diagrams, tables, and opinions presented in this paper are those of the author, and he assumes full responsibility for their accuracy.

Permission is granted to reproduce the eclipse data when accompanied by a link to this page and an acknowledgment:

"Eclipse Predictions by Fred Espenak, EclipseWise.com"

The use of diagrams and maps is permitted provided that they are unaltered (except for re-sizing) and the embedded credit line is not removed or covered.

Footnotes

[1] UTC or Coordinated Universal Time is the primary time standard that regulates world clocks and time. It is based on International Atomic Time (TAI) with leap seconds added at irregular intervals to compensate for the slowing of Earth's rotation. Leap seconds keep UTC within 0.9 second of UT1 (UT1 is mean solar time at 0° longitude). UTC is not adjusted for daylight saving time. It is effectively a successor to Greenwich Mean Time (GMT).

[2] The instant of greatest eclipse for solar eclipses occurs when the distance between the Moon's shadow axis and Earth's geocenter reaches a minimum.

[3] Eclipse magnitude for solar eclipses is defined as the fraction of the Sun's diameter occulted by the Moon.

[4] Eclipse obscuration is defined as the fraction of the Sun's area occulted by the Moon.

[5] For solar eclipses, gamma is the distance of the Moon's shadow axis from Earth's center (in Earth radii) when it reaches its minimum absolute value.

[6] The Saros is a period of 6,585.3 days (18 years 11 days 8 hours) in which eclipses (both solar and lunar) repeat. The geometry isn't exact but close enough for a Saros series to last 12 or more centuries.

[7] The instant of greatest eclipse for lunar eclipses occurs when the distance between the Moon and Earth's shadow axis reaches a minimum.

[8] Umbral eclipse magnitude is defined as the fraction of the Moon's diameter occulted by Earth's umbral shadow.

[9] For lunar eclipses, gamma is the distance of the Moon's center from Earth's shadow axis (in Earth radii) when it reaches its minimum absolute value.

[10] Penumbral eclipse magnitude is defined as the fraction of the Moon's diameter occulted by Earth's penumbral shadow.

References

Chauvenet, W., Manual of Spherical and Practical Astronomy, Vol.1, 1891 (Dover edition 1961).

Danjon, A., "Les éclipses de Lune par la pénombre en 1951," L'Astronomie, 65, 51-53 (Feb. 1951).

Espenak, F., Meeus, J., Five Millennium Canon of Solar Eclipses –1999 to +3000, 2nd Edition, AstroPixels Publishing, Portal, AZ, 2021.

Espenak, F., Meeus, J., Five Millennium Canon of Lunar Eclipses –-1999 to +3000, 2nd Edition, AstroPixels Publishing, Portal, AZ, 2021.

Espenak, F., Thousand Year Canon of Solar Eclipses 1501 to 2500, AstroPixels Publishing, Portal, AZ, 2014.

Espenak, F., Thousand Year Canon of Lunar Eclipses 1501 to 2500, AstroPixels Publishing, Portal, AZ, 2014.

Espenak, F., 21st Century Canon of Solar Eclipses, AstroPixels Publishing, Portal, AZ, 2016.

Espenak, F., 21st Century Canon of Lunar Eclipses, AstroPixels Publishing, Portal, AZ, 2020.

Espenak, F., Atlas of Central Solar Eclipses in the USA, AstroPixels Publishing, Portal, AZ, 2016.

Explanatory Supplement to the Astronomical Ephemeris and the American Ephemeris and Nautical Almanac, Her Majesty's Nautical Almanac Office, London, 1974.

Herald, D., and Sinnott, R. W., “Analysis of Lunar Crater Timings, 1842–2011,” J. Br. Astron. Assoc., 124, 5, 2014.

Hire P. de la, Tabulae Astronomicae, Paris, 1687.

Keen, R. A., "Volcanic Aerosols and Lunar Eclipses", Science, vol. 222, p. 1011-1013, Dec. 2, 1983.

Meeus, J., Elements of Solar Eclipses 1951-2200, Willmann-Bell, Richmond, VA (1989).



  






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