SUN · LUNAR ECLIPSE · BLOOD MOON
Total lunar eclipse of December 31, 2028
The next total lunar eclipse after March 2026 — and it lands on New Year’s Eve. 72 minutes of totality for Europe, Africa, Asia and Australia as 2028 turns into 2029.
Unlike a solar eclipse, a lunar eclipse is completely safe to watch with the naked eye — no glasses, no filters. Everyone on the night side of Earth sees the same phase at the same moment.
The timeline, minute by minute
Contact times from the published canon (UT1, rounded to the minute). These instants are the same everywhere on Earth; whether you can see a given phase depends only on whether the Moon is above your horizon — check your city below.
| Phase | What happens | UT |
|---|---|---|
| P1 | Penumbral eclipse begins | 14:03 |
| U1 | Partial eclipse begins — the Moon enters the umbra | 15:07 |
| U2 | TOTALITY begins — the blood-moon phase | 16:16 |
| Max | Greatest eclipse | 16:52 |
| U3 | Totality ends | 17:28 |
| U4 | Partial eclipse ends — the Moon leaves the umbra | 18:36 |
| P4 | Penumbral eclipse ends | 19:40 |
What you'll see
The full Moon slides into Earth's shadow and, during totality, turns a deep copper-red — a blood moon. The colour is real physics: every sunrise and sunset on Earth, refracted through our atmosphere onto the lunar surface at once. With magnitude 1.24785, the Moon travels well inside the umbra. The Moon is 4.5 days before perigee — a relatively large moon. It sits in Gemini for the night.
Who sees it — city by city
Computed from the canon contact times and the Moon's real position over each city (geometric altitude; near the horizon, buildings and haze matter). “Maximum” is the local clock time of greatest eclipse. Each city links to its own eclipse page with the full calendar.
| City | Sees | Maximum (local) | Moon at max |
|---|---|---|---|
| New York | Not visible | — | below horizon |
| Los Angeles | Not visible | — | below horizon |
| Mexico City | Not visible | — | below horizon |
| São Paulo | Not visible | — | below horizon |
| Buenos Aires | Not visible | — | below horizon |
| London | Rises during — later phases | Dec 31, 4:52 PM | 8° — very low |
| Madrid | Rises during — later phases | Dec 31, 5:52 PM | 0° — very low |
| Berlin | Entire eclipse | Dec 31, 5:52 PM | 16° |
| Rome | Rises during — later phases | Dec 31, 5:52 PM | 12° |
| Lagos | Rises during — later phases | Dec 31, 5:52 PM | -11° |
| Cairo | Entire eclipse | Dec 31, 6:52 PM | 23° |
| Johannesburg | Rises during — later phases | Dec 31, 6:52 PM | -2° |
| Istanbul | Entire eclipse | Dec 31, 7:52 PM | 23° |
| Dubai | Entire eclipse | Dec 31, 8:52 PM | 42° |
| Delhi | Entire eclipse | Dec 31, 10:22 PM | 62° |
| Tokyo | Entire eclipse | Jan 1, 1:52 AM | 60° |
| Sydney | Entire eclipse | Jan 1, 3:52 AM | 19° |
| Auckland | Sets during — earlier phases | Jan 1, 5:52 AM | 3° — very low |
Your city not here? Every one of our 132 city pages carries this eclipse — find yours.
Keep exploring
Eclipse predictions by Fred Espenak (NASA GSFC / EclipseWise.com) — 21st Century Canon of Lunar Eclipses, JPL DE430 ephemerides, Herald/Sinnott shadow model. Contact times UT1. City visibility computed by LiveEarthViewer from the canon instants. Source table checked 2026.