- The total lunar eclipse of 20 December 2029 reaches its greatest phase at 22:42 UTC.
- Its umbral magnitude is 1.117; totality lasts 54 min and the partial phase 3 h 33 min.
- It is visible from the Americas, Europe, Africa, Asia.
- From Vilnius it is visible, with the local maximum at 00:42 Vilnius time.
- The eclipse belongs to Saros series 135.
What time is the eclipse?
The moment of greatest eclipse is the same everywhere on Earth; only the clock time differs. A lunar eclipse is seen at the same instant from every place where the Moon is above the horizon.
| Time zone | Greatest eclipse |
|---|---|
| UTC (Universal Time) | 22:42 |
| Vilnius, Riga, Tallinn, Helsinki | 00:42 (21 Dec) |
| Moscow | 01:42 (21 Dec) |
| London | 22:42 |
| New York | 17:42 |
Where is the eclipse visible?
The eclipse is visible from the Americas, Europe, Africa, Asia. A lunar eclipse is seen from every place where the Moon is above the horizon during the eclipse.
Is it visible from Europe and the Baltic states?
The eclipse is visible from Europe. The eclipse is visible from Vilnius, with the maximum at 00:42 Vilnius time.
What you will see
The Earth’s shadow creeps over the Moon for about an hour, then the whole disc turns copper red for the length of totality. No protection is needed; binoculars show the colour well.
The Saros series
This eclipse belongs to Saros series 135. Eclipses of one series repeat every 18 years, 11 days and 8 hours, and each one falls about a third of the way around the globe to the west of the previous one.
All eclipses of 2029
| Date | Eclipse | Greatest eclipse (UTC) | From Europe |
|---|---|---|---|
| 14 January 2029 | Partial solar eclipse | 17:13 | not visible |
| 12 June 2029 | Partial solar eclipse | 04:05 | partly visible |
| 26 June 2029 | Total lunar eclipse | 03:22 | visible |
| 11 July 2029 | Partial solar eclipse | 15:36 | not visible |
| 5 December 2029 | Partial solar eclipse | 15:03 | not visible |
| 20 December 2029 | Total lunar eclipse | 22:42 | visible |
Questions people ask
What time is the total lunar eclipse on 20 December 2029?
Greatest eclipse is at 22:42 UTC, which is 22:42 in London and 17:42 in New York.
Where is it visible?
It is visible from the Americas, Europe, Africa, Asia.
Can it be seen from Lithuania?
The eclipse is visible from Vilnius, with the maximum at 00:42 Vilnius time.
How long does it last?
Totality lasts 54 min; the partial phase, from the first to the last touch of the dark shadow, lasts 3 h 33 min.
Do I need eye protection?
No. A lunar eclipse is as safe to watch as the full moon.
When is the next total lunar eclipse?
The next total lunar eclipse is after 2030.
- Fred Espenak, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center: Solar Eclipses 2021–2030 and Lunar Eclipses 2021–2030 (eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov).
- Jean Meeus, Astronomical Algorithms, 2nd ed., 1998.
- American Astronomical Society: How to view a solar eclipse safely; ISO 12312-2 filters for direct observation of the Sun.
- timeanddate.com: local circumstances of eclipses for Vilnius.
Dates, types, magnitudes and durations are taken from the NASA eclipse tables and checked row by row. NASA gives the time of greatest eclipse in Terrestrial Dynamical Time; this page converts it to UTC and shows it to the minute. The countdown is recalculated every day.