Occasionally
the Earth passes between the Sun and the Moon. When
that happens, the Earth's shadow covers all or part
of the Moon and we get a lunar eclipse.
A lunar eclipse lasts much longer than a solar
eclipse.
A total solar eclipse can last for up to 7½ minutes.
How long do you think a total lunar eclipse can
last for?
Length of total lunar eclipse in minutes?
Here is an animation showing the orbit of the Moon around the Earth and the orbit of the Earth around the Sun. Can you see when a lunar eclispe happens?
When do lunar eclipses occur?
Date
Year
Time (UT)
May 4
2004
20:30
October 28
2004
03:04
March 3
2007
23:21
August 28
2007
10:37
February 21
2008
03:26
December 21
2010
08:17
June 15
2011
20:12
December 10
2011
14:32
April 15
2014
07:45
October 8
2014
10:54
April 4
2015
12:00
This table shows the dates of some recent and future total lunar eclipses. Notice how they often
come in pairs a few months apart, and then
there is a gap of two or three years without
any eclipses.
![[100 - Yes! The time when the Moon is completley dark can last upto a 100 minutes!]](../../images/totality-q-and-a100.gif){kind=small}
![[150 - Not quite as long as 150 minutes! Have another go!]](../../images/totality-q-and-a150.gif){kind=small}
![[300 - Too long - Have another go!]](../../images/totality-q-and-a300.gif){kind=small}
![[How does a barber cut the Moon's hair? - Eclipse it!]](../../images/laughing-faces-eclipse1.gif)
![[...did you know? - The Roman name for the Moon is 'Lun']](../../images/did-you-know-wings1.gif)
![[Q - There are about 7 lunar eclipses every 10 years, approximately how many have there been since 2000 BC?]](../../images/how-hot-q-01.gif){kind=small}
![[Quick Quiz - ]](../../images/how-hot-answer-00.gif)
![[A - That's 4000 years so ther have been about 2800 total lunar eclipses since then!]](../../images/how-hot-a-01.gif){kind=small}
![[...A second eclipse often follows the first (about 177 days later). Can you work out when the next eclipse would occur after the lunar eclipse of April 4th 2015? - The next lunar eclipse would be on September 28th 2015!]](../../images/did-you-know-lunareclipseda.gif)