Every Eclipse Through 2030

There is nothing quite like standing in the Moon’s shadow. For a few minutes the sky goes dark at midday, the temperature drops, and the Sun’s corona flares out around a black disc. A lunar eclipse is gentler but just as worth staying up for — the full Moon slides into Earth’s shadow and turns a deep, coppery red. Both are free, both are fixed on the calendar decades ahead, and this page tracks every one worth planning around.

Solar or lunar — and the one safety rule

Every eclipse is one of two kinds, and the difference decides how you watch it:

• A solar eclipse happens at new moon, when the Moon passes in front of the Sun. Never look at the partial phases without ISO 12312-2 eclipse glasses or a certified solar filter. Ordinary sunglasses are not enough and will not protect your eyes. The only moment it is safe to look with the naked eye is during the brief totality of a total eclipse, when the Sun’s disc is fully covered.
• A lunar eclipse happens at full moon, when Earth’s shadow falls on the Moon. It is completely safe to watch with your naked eye, binoculars, or a telescope — no filter, no special gear, nothing to buy.

Within each kind, how much gets covered sets the name. A total eclipse is the full event: the corona for a solar eclipse, the red “blood moon” for a lunar one. An annular solar eclipse is the “ring of fire”: the Moon is a little too far from Earth to cover the Sun completely, leaving a bright ring. A partial eclipse covers only part of the disc.

Every eclipse through 2030

Filter by type, and check the linked map for exactly where the shadow falls and the local timing on the day. The region below is the broad area where each eclipse is visible.

How to watch a solar eclipse safely

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You need certified eye protection for the entire partial phase. Ordinary sunglasses never count, and the only safe naked-eye moment is the brief totality of a total eclipse. Use any of these three, and confirm each one is ISO 12312-2 certified before you point it at the Sun:

• Eclipse glasses: the cheapest, most portable option; get a pair for everyone watching. ISO 12312-2 eclipse glasses ▸ · bulk packs for a group ▸
• Solar binoculars: a magnified view of the disc and any sunspots, with the filter built in and sealed so it can’t fall off. See our solar binoculars guide.
• A telescope solar filter: for scope owners, a certified filter that fits over the front of the tube, sized to your aperture. Celestron EclipSmart filter ▸ (confirm the size matches your telescope, since it must cover the full front opening).

To see totality (the corona, the sudden dusk, the horizon glowing on all sides), you have to be inside the narrow path of totality, so the big total eclipses are the ones worth traveling for.

For a lunar eclipse, just go outside and look up. The Moon is bright enough to see from a city, and none of this gear is needed. A pair of astronomy binoculars deepens the color beautifully, and any beginner telescope turns it into an event. No filter needed, because the eclipsed Moon is far dimmer than the full Moon.

Why the Moon turns red

During a total lunar eclipse the Moon doesn’t go dark — it glows a dim red or orange. Earth blocks the direct sunlight, but our atmosphere bends and filters a little of it around the edges of the planet and onto the Moon. It is, in effect, the light of every sunrise and sunset on Earth at once, projected onto the lunar surface. The dustier the sky, the deeper the red.

Eclipses are the easiest way to feel the clockwork of the solar system on a human timescale. If they hook you (and they do), the same clear, dark sky rewards a first night of stargazing and a look at what a telescope actually shows you.