A small bite out of the full Moon
The Moon only grazes the edge of Earth’s umbra, the dark core of its shadow. At the peak, a little under 3% of the Moon’s disc lies inside it, enough to see a darker notch on one side of an otherwise bright full Moon. The partial phase lasts about 58 minutes.
For more than two hours before and after, the Moon also passes through the penumbra, the faint outer shadow. Few people notice that part without a camera, because the Moon only dims slightly.
Where to see the eclipse of 12 January 2028
The whole partial phase is visible from the Americas, Europe and western and northern Africa. Across the Americas it happens on the evening of 11 January, local time, with the Moon high in the sky. Europe sees it before dawn on 12 January, with the Moon sinking in the west, and in the eastern Mediterranean it ends close to moonset.
Asia and Australia have daylight during the eclipse and see nothing.
How to watch
No equipment is needed, and lunar eclipses are completely safe to look at. A pair of binoculars shows the edge of the shadow better than the naked eye. If you want a photo, take the same shot every five minutes from a tripod and compare them afterwards: the notch stands out much more clearly side by side.
Eclipse times
| Phase | Time (UTC) |
|---|---|
| Penumbral eclipse begins | 02:07 |
| Partial eclipse begins | 03:44 |
| Greatest eclipse | 04:13 |
| Partial eclipse ends | 04:42 |
| Penumbral eclipse ends | 06:19 |
Universal Time. Add your own time zone offset, or use the city table below.
Local times in major cities
| City | Partial phase | Peak, local | Moon height |
|---|---|---|---|
| New YorkUnited States | Whole22:44–23:42 | 23:1311 Jan | 69° |
| ChicagoUnited States | Whole21:44–22:42 | 22:1311 Jan | 60° |
| Mexico CityMexico | Whole21:44–22:42 | 22:1311 Jan | 54° |
| São PauloBrazil | Whole00:44–01:42 | 01:1312 Jan | 41° |
| MadridSpain | Whole04:44–05:42 | 05:1312 Jan | 38° |
| Los AngelesUnited States | Whole19:44–20:42 | 20:1311 Jan | 38° |
| LondonUnited Kingdom | Whole03:44–04:42 | 04:1312 Jan | 35° |
| ParisFrance | Whole04:44–05:42 | 05:1312 Jan | 33° |
| Buenos AiresArgentina | Whole00:44–01:42 | 01:1312 Jan | 32° |
| BerlinGermany | Whole04:44–05:42 | 05:1312 Jan | 26° |
| CairoEgypt | Whole05:44–06:42 | 06:1312 Jan | 8° |
| HonoluluUnited States | Part17:44–18:42 | 18:1311 Jan | 1° |
| JohannesburgSouth Africa | None | – | below horizon |
| DubaiUnited Arab Emirates | None | – | below horizon |
| DelhiIndia | None | – | below horizon |
| BeijingChina | None | – | below horizon |
| TokyoJapan | None | – | below horizon |
| AucklandNew Zealand | None | – | below horizon |
| SydneyAustralia | None | – | below horizon |
“Whole” means the Moon stays above the horizon for the entire partial phase; “Part” means it rises or sets during it.
Good questions
- Is the 12 January 2028 lunar eclipse a blood moon?
- No. Only a small part of the Moon enters Earth’s dark shadow, so it does not turn red. The next total lunar eclipse, with a red Moon, is on 31 December 2028.
- What time is the eclipse in the UK?
- The peak is at 04:13 GMT on 12 January 2028, with the Moon low in the west before sunrise.
Sources
- NASA Science, Lunar eclipses
- EclipseWise (Fred Espenak), Lunar eclipses 2021–2030
- NASA eclipse website, Visual appearance of lunar eclipses