A winter eclipse with the Moon high
In December the full Moon rides high in the sky for anyone in the Northern Hemisphere, the opposite of the low summer Moon. The eclipse of 20 December 2029 is therefore easy to watch from towns and cities: there is no need to find a clear horizon. In London totality comes in the late evening, and across most of Europe shortly before midnight.
Where to see the eclipse of 20 December 2029
The whole of totality is visible from Europe, Africa, the Middle East and western and central Asia. In Delhi and Beijing it happens in the early morning of 21 December, with the Moon setting.
In the Americas the Moon rises during the eclipse on the evening of 20 December. New York and São Paulo see totality low in the east, Chicago sees most of it just after moonrise, and Buenos Aires catches only its end.
How to watch
Dress for a cold night if you are in the north, and give your eyes ten minutes away from bright lights before totality: the red Moon is much dimmer than a full Moon, and dark-adapted eyes see far more colour. Lunar eclipses are safe to look at with the naked eye and through binoculars or a telescope.
Eclipse times
| Phase | Time (UTC) |
|---|---|
| Penumbral eclipse begins | 19:43 |
| Partial eclipse begins | 20:55 |
| Totality begins | 22:14 |
| Greatest eclipse | 22:42 |
| Totality ends | 23:09 |
| Partial eclipse ends | 00:29 |
| Penumbral eclipse ends | 01:41 |
Universal Time. Add your own time zone offset, or use the city table below.
Local times in major cities
| City | Totality | Peak, local | Moon height |
|---|---|---|---|
| CairoEgypt | Whole00:14–01:09 | 00:4221 Dec | 77° |
| MadridSpain | Whole23:14–00:09 | 23:4220 Dec | 64° |
| ParisFrance | Whole23:14–00:09 | 23:4220 Dec | 61° |
| BerlinGermany | Whole23:14–00:09 | 23:4220 Dec | 60° |
| LondonUnited Kingdom | Whole22:14–23:09 | 22:4220 Dec | 58° |
| DubaiUnited Arab Emirates | Whole02:14–03:09 | 02:4221 Dec | 56° |
| JohannesburgSouth Africa | Whole00:14–01:09 | 00:4221 Dec | 39° |
| DelhiIndia | Whole03:44–04:39 | 04:1221 Dec | 37° |
| New YorkUnited States | Whole17:14–18:09 | 17:4220 Dec | 12° |
| São PauloBrazil | Whole19:14–20:09 | 19:4220 Dec | 10° |
| BeijingChina | Whole06:14–07:09 | 06:4221 Dec | 8° |
| ChicagoUnited States | Part16:14–17:09 | 16:4220 Dec | 3° |
| Buenos AiresArgentina | Part19:14–20:09 | 19:4220 Dec | rising or setting |
| TokyoJapan | None | – | below horizon |
| Mexico CityMexico | None | – | below horizon |
| Los AngelesUnited States | None | – | below horizon |
| HonoluluUnited States | None | – | below horizon |
| SydneyAustralia | None | – | below horizon |
| AucklandNew Zealand | None | – | below horizon |
“Whole” means the Moon stays above the horizon for the entire totality; “Part” means it rises or sets during it.
Good questions
- Is the 20 December 2029 eclipse visible in the UK?
- Yes, all of it. The peak is at 22:42 GMT, with the Moon high in the southern sky.
- Can I see it from the United States?
- Yes, in the east. On the East Coast the Moon rises during the partial phase and all of totality follows low in the east. In the Midwest it rises partway through totality, and on the West Coast after it.
Sources
- NASA Science, Lunar eclipses
- EclipseWise (Fred Espenak), Lunar eclipses 2021–2030
- NASA eclipse website, Visual appearance of lunar eclipses