January 2018 lunar eclipse Facts for Kids

January 2018 lunar eclipse, view from California

On January 31, 2018, a special event happened in the sky: a total lunar eclipse. This eclipse was extra unique because the Moon looked like a supermoon. A supermoon happens when the Moon is at its closest point to Earth, called perigee. This makes the Moon look a bit bigger and brighter than usual.

It was also the first blue moon eclipse of 2018. A blue moon is the second full moon in a single calendar month. Because it was a supermoon, a blue moon, and a total lunar eclipse (which often makes the Moon look reddish, like a "blood moon"), people called it the super blue blood moon.

What is a Lunar Eclipse?
Where Could People See It?
- Best Views Across the World
  - How it Looked from the United States
- When Did It Happen?
Photo Gallery
More Images
See also

What is a Lunar Eclipse?

A lunar eclipse happens when the Moon passes through Earth's shadow. Imagine the Earth blocking the Sun's light from reaching the Moon. This creates a shadow.

As the eclipse starts, Earth's shadow slowly covers the Moon. The Moon doesn't disappear completely. Instead, it often turns a dark red-brown color. This happens because of something called Rayleigh scattering. It's the same reason sunsets look red! Earth's atmosphere bends some of the Sun's light and sends it towards the Moon, making it appear reddish.

Where Could People See It?

Best Views Across the World

Many people around the world got to see this amazing lunar eclipse. The Pacific Ocean was facing the Moon during the eclipse. This meant that Central and eastern Asia (like most of Siberia), the Philippines, Indonesia, New Zealand, and most of Australia had a great view in the evening sky.

If you were in western Asia, the Indian subcontinent, the Middle East, or Eastern Europe, the eclipse had already started as the Moon rose.

How it Looked from the United States

Along the U.S. West Coast, the total part of the eclipse began at 4:51 a.m. PST. The further east you were in the U.S., the closer the eclipse was to ending as the Moon set.

The total eclipse lasted for 77 minutes. During this time, the Moon moved through the lower part of Earth's shadow. This made the bottom edge of the Moon look much brighter than its darker top edge during the total eclipse.

View of Earth from the Moon during the eclipse	Map showing where the eclipse was visible

When Did It Happen?

This table shows the different times the eclipse stages happened in various time zones around the world.

Event timing by timezone
Eclipse	HST	AKST	PST	MST	CST	EST	UTC	MSK	IST	ICT	CST	JST	AEDT	NZDT
Zone from UTC	−10 h	−9 h	−8 h	−7 h	−6 h	−5 h	0 h	+3 h	+5½ h	+7 h	+8 h	+9 h	+11 h	+13 h
Penumbral eclipse begins	00:51	01:51	02:51	03:51	04:51	05:51	10:51	13:51	—	17:51	18:51	19:51	21:51	23:51
Partial eclipse begins	01:48	02:48	03:48	04:48	05:48	06:48	11:48	14:48	17:18	18:48	19:48	20:48	22:48	00:48
Total eclipse begins	02:52	03:52	04:52	05:52	06:52	—	12:52	15:52	18:22	19:52	20:52	21:52	23:52	01:52
Mid-eclipse	03:30	04:30	05:30	06:30	—	—	13:30	16:30	19:00	20:30	21:30	22:30	00:30	02:30
Total eclipse ends	04:08	05:08	06:08	07:08	—	—	14:08	17:08	19:38	21:08	22:08	23:08	01:08	03:08
Partial eclipse ends	05:11	06:11	07:11	—	—	—	15:11	18:11	20:41	22:11	23:11	00:11	02:11	04:11
Penumbral eclipse ends	06:08	07:08	—	—	—	—	16:08	19:08	21:38	23:08	00:08	01:08	03:08	05:08

Photo Gallery

Total or Near Total Eclipse Views

From Aichi Prefecture, Japan
From Tokyo, Japan
From Kerala, India
Another view from Kerala, India
From Victoria, Australia, at 12:44am AEST
From Chiang Mai, Thailand at 7:56 PM ICT. Shows two views: how the camera saw it and how people saw it.
From Victoria, Australia, at 11:48pm AEST
From Victoria, Australia, at 1:14am AEST

Montages of the Eclipse

A sequence of the lunar eclipse
Another sequence showing the eclipse stages

Partial Eclipse Views

From Nanjing, China, at 11:56 UTC
From Nanjing, China, at 3:10 PM UTC
From Kerala, India
Another view from Kerala, India
The partial eclipse rising from Kuwait

More Images

Example from Aichi Prefecture, Japan: 1. Penumbral lunar eclipse at 8:23 PM (JST) 2. Partial lunar eclipse at 9:13 PM (JST) 3. Partial lunar eclipse at 9:43 PM (JST) 4. Total lunar eclipse (blood moon) at 9:55 PM (JST)
From Fayetteville, North Carolina, at 11:36 UTC
Partial eclipse from Naval Base Point Loma, California
From Melbourne, Florida, at 12:00 UTC
From Jacksonville, Florida, at 12:10 UTC
From Macon, Georgia, at 12:11 UTC
From Tula, Tamaulipas, at 12:29 UTC
From Houston, Texas, at 12:41 UTC
From Dallas, Texas, at 12:51 UTC
Totality from Southern California, at 12:58 UTC
From Denver, Colorado, at 12:59 UTC
From Yellowstone National Park, at 1:03 PM UTC
From Placitas, New Mexico, at 1:35 PM UTC
From Redwood City, California, at 1:43 PM UTC
From Novato, California, at 2:13 PM UTC
From Landers, California at dawn
From Joshua Tree, California
Partial eclipse from Ilagan, Isabela
From Hiroshima, Japan, at 11:43 UTC
From Shinjyuku, Tokyo, at 12:52 UTC
From Chōfu, Tokyo, at 1:22 PM UTC
From Guangzhou, China, at 1:50 PM UTC
From Novosibirsk, Russia, at 2:06 PM UTC
From George Town, Malaysia, at 2:16 PM UTC
From Singapore, at 2:32 PM UTC
From the Russian Far East
From Lake Wendouree, Victoria, at 12:40 UTC
From Sydney, Australia, at 12:49 UTC