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Ephemeris: 12/30/2025 – 2026 a year of eclipses

December 30, 2025 Comments off

This is Bob Moler with Ephemeris for Tuesday, December 30th. Today the Sun will be up for 8 hours and 51 minutes, setting at 5:11, and it will rise tomorrow at 8:20. The Moon, 3 days past first quarter, will set at 5:28 tomorrow morning.

In each calendar year there are at least 4 eclipses. Two of the Sun and two of the moon. Usually we see one or maybe 2 or none. However, in 2026 we get to see three of the four eclipses, 2 lunar eclipses and a solar eclipse. The first eclipse is on March 3rd it is a total lunar eclipse, which we get to see most of. It actually ends in its final partial phase at sunrise. The next eclipse is a solar eclipse, The Moon just grazes the Sun. That will be on August 12th just before the peak of the Perseid meteor shower that night. Last on August 27th late that evening and morning of the 28th there will be a very deep partial eclipse of the Moon where 93% of its disk will be covered by the Earth’s inner shadow.

The astronomical event times given in this blog are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan (Lat 44.7° N, Long 85.7° W; EST, UT – 5 hours) unless stated otherwise. Times will be different for other locations.

Addendum

The partially eclipsed Moon setting through a thin cloud and the neighbor kid’s swing set at 7:09 AM EDT April 4, 2015.
The partially eclipsed Moon setting through a thin cloud and the neighbor kid’s swing set at 7:09 AM EDT April 4, 2015. Sunrise that morning was at 7:18 AM. Taken with a smartphone through 10X50 binoculars. Credit: the author.
The end of the March 3rd eclipse will look something like this. The totally eclipsed Moon will disappear in twilight. Later the partially illuminated parts of the Moon will appear out of the blue before moonset.
Stellarium's idea of what mid-point of the August 12, 2026 solar eclipse would look like.
Stellarium’s idea of what mid-point of the August 12, 2026 solar eclipse would look like. Seems like the celestial dragon is just taking a small nibble out of the Sun.
This is what the mid-point of the August 27-28, 2026 partial lunar eclipse might look like, according to Stellarium.
This is what the mid-point of the August 27-28, 2026 partial lunar eclipse might look like, according to Stellarium.
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