March 2026 lunar eclipse

{{Short description|Total lunar eclipse of 2 March 2026}}

{{Infobox lunar eclipse

| type = total

| image = Lunar eclipse chart close-2026Mar03.png

| caption = The Moon's hourly motion shown right to left

| date = March 3, 2026

| gamma = −0.3765

| magnitude = 1.1526

| saros_ser = 133

| saros_no = 27 of 71

| totality = 58 minutes, 19 seconds

| partiality = 207 minutes, 10 seconds

| penumbral = 338 minutes, 37 seconds

| p1 = 8:44:22

| u1 = 9:50:00

| u2 = 11:04:26

| greatest = 11:33:37

| u3 = 12:02:45

| u4 = 13:17:10

| p4 = 14:22:59

| previous = September 2025

| next = August 2026

}}

A total lunar eclipse will occur at the Moon’s descending node of orbit on Tuesday, March 3, 2026,{{cite web|title=March 2–3, 2026 Total Lunar Eclipse (Blood Moon)|url=https://www.timeanddate.com/eclipse/lunar/2026-march-3|publisher=timeanddate|access-date=19 November 2024}} with an umbral magnitude of 1.1526. A lunar eclipse occurs when the Moon moves into the Earth's shadow, causing the Moon to be darkened. A total lunar eclipse occurs when the Moon's near side entirely passes into the Earth's umbral shadow. Unlike a solar eclipse, which can only be viewed from a relatively small area of the world, a lunar eclipse may be viewed from anywhere on the night side of Earth. A total lunar eclipse can last up to nearly two hours, while a total solar eclipse lasts only a few minutes at any given place, because the Moon's shadow is smaller. The Moon's apparent diameter will be near the average diameter because it will occur 6.7 days after perigee (on February 24, 2026, at 18:15 UTC) and 6.9 days before apogee (on March 10, 2026, at 9:45 UTC).{{cite web|title=Moon Distances for London, United Kingdom, England|url=https://www.timeanddate.com/astronomy/moon/distance.html?year=2026&n=136|publisher=timeanddate|access-date=19 November 2024}}

This lunar eclipse will be the third of an almost tetrad, with the others being on March 14, 2025 (total); September 8, 2025 (total); and August 28, 2026 (partial).

During the eclipse, the Moon will occult NGC 3423 over North America.{{cite book |date=2002 |first=Jan |last=Meeus |chapter=Occultations of deep-sky objects during a total lunar eclipse |pages=157-162 |title=More Mathematical Astronomy Morsels |isbn=0943396743 |url=https://falakmu.id/khgt/dokumen/More%20mathematical%20astronomy%20morsels%20(Jean%20Meeus)%20(Z-Library).pdf}}{{rp|161}}