The 1st eclipse season of 2026 starts in February

1st eclipse season of 2026

The first eclipse season of 2026 is underway! An eclipse season is an approximate 35-day period during which it’s inevitable that at least two (and possibly three) eclipses will occur. This first eclipse season of 2026 features two eclipses, an annular or “ring of fire” solar eclipse on February 17 and a total lunar eclipse on March 2-3.

During an eclipse season, the Earth, moon and sun line up in space. Eclipse seasons recur about every 173 days (somewhat shy of every six calendar months), when the sun aligns with one of the moon’s orbital nodes — the two points where the plane of the moon’s orbit crosses the plane of Earth’s orbit around the sun. The moon has to be at a node at either full or new moon, in order for an eclipse to occur.

A full moon at a lunar node means a lunar eclipse. A new moon at a node means a solar eclipse.

The second eclipse season of 2026 will fall in August. There will be a total solar eclipse on August 12, 2026, followed two weeks later by a partial lunar eclipse on August 28, 2026.

EarthSky’s 2026 lunar calendar is available now. Get yours today! Makes a great gift.

Why don’t we see every eclipse?

So we have two eclipse seasons per year (usually), giving us have at least four eclipses per year and sometimes more. But – unless we become eclipse chasers – most of us don’t see that many eclipses. To see a lunar eclipse, the full moon has to be above your horizon. And that can only happen at night, or close to night, because a full moon is opposite the sun. Night falls for half of Earth at once. So, generally speaking, half of Earth can see a lunar eclipse at once.

Solar eclipses are harder to catch. A total solar eclipse can be seen only from a narrow track along Earth’s surface. The accompanying partial solar eclipse can be seen only in areas adjacent to that track.

So you have to be in the right location on Earth’s surface to see a lunar or solar eclipse. But lunar eclipses are easier to catch than solar eclipses.

What causes an eclipse season?

Astronomy is all about cycles. When you learn to watch the night sky, you’ll begin to notice the many cycles of the sky.

And, of course, eclipses come in cycles, too. Consider a scenario where the moon orbited Earth on the same plane as the Earth orbits the sun. Then we’d have a solar eclipse at every new moon, and a lunar eclipse at every full moon.

But, in reality, the plane of the moon’s orbit is inclined by 5 degrees to the ecliptic (Earth’s orbital plane). Most of the time, the new moon or full moon swings too far north, or south, of the ecliptic for an eclipse to take place.

For instance, in the year 2026, we will have 12 new moons and 13 full moons, but only two solar eclipses and two lunar eclipses.

When lunar nodes point at the sun

So, as the moon orbits Earth, the moon crosses the ecliptic (Earth’s orbital plane) twice each month. Those crossing points are the nodes. If the moon is going from south to north, it’s called the moon’s ascending node. If the moon is moving from north to south, it’s called the moon’s descending node.

But, for an eclipse to take place, that crossing point – or lunar node – must be pointed at the sun. And that momentous crossing marks the middle of the eclipse season. Maybe you can see that the alignment of the moon, sun and Earth is most exact when an eclipse happens at the middle of an eclipse season, in other words, when there’s a new or full moon precisely at a node crossing. On the other hand, the alignment of the moon, sun and Earth is least exact when a new or full moon happens at the start or the end of an eclipse season. A lunar eclipse happening early or late in the eclipse season gives us a penumbral lunar eclipse, where the outer, lighter shadow of the Earth brushes the moon’s face. And any solar eclipse happening early or late in the eclipse season is a skimpy partial eclipse.

Read more: Node passages of the moon: 2001 to 2100

2 or 3 eclipses in one eclipse season?

An eclipse season most often presents only two eclipses. However, if the first eclipse falls early in the eclipse season, then it’s possible for a third eclipse to occur before the eclipse season ends.

For example, the last time three eclipses happened in one eclipse season was June-July 2020:

June 5, 2020: Penumbral lunar eclipse
June 21, 2020: Annular solar eclipse
July 5, 2020: Penumbral lunar eclipse

Likewise, the next time three eclipses will occur in one eclipse season will be June-July 2029:

June 12, 2029: Partial solar eclipse
June 26, 2029: Total lunar eclipse
July 11, 2029: Partial solar eclipse

Eclipse season terminology

With this in mind, here are some words you need to know to understand eclipse seasons: lunar nodes and ecliptic. The ecliptic is the plane of the Earth’s orbit around the sun. A lunar node is the point where, in its monthly orbit of Earth, the moon’s orbit intersects that plane. An eclipse season is when – from Earth’s perspective – the sun is close enough to a lunar node to allow an eclipse to take place. If the sun is close to a lunar node at full moon, we see a lunar eclipse. If the sun is close to a lunar node at new moon, we see a solar eclipse.

To put it another way, if the moon turns new or full in close concert with the moon’s crossing of one of its nodes, then an eclipse is not only possible, but inevitable.

Minimum of 4 eclipses in one year

A lunar month (period of time between successive new moons or successive full moons) is about 29.5 days long. So a minimum of two eclipses (one solar and one lunar, in either order) happens in one eclipse season. A maximum of three eclipses is possible (either lunar/solar/lunar or solar/lunar/solar), though the first eclipse of the eclipse season has to come quite early to allow for a third eclipse near the end.

So a minimum of two lunar eclipses and two solar eclipses occurs in one calendar year. Yet, depending on how the eclipse seasons and lunar phases align, it’s possible to also have five, six or seven eclipses in one year.

For the maximum of seven eclipses to occur in one calendar year, the first eclipse must come in early January. That leaves enough room for the seventh eclipse in late December. In one scenario, an eclipse season sporting two eclipses comes early in the year and late in the year. The middle eclipse season stages three eclipses.

It’s quite rare for seven eclipses to occur in one calendar year, however. Seven eclipses last happened in the year 1982, and will next occur in the year 2038.

Maximum of 7 eclipses in one year

Also, it’s remotely possible for a calendar year to sport two eclipse seasons with three eclipses each, and one eclipse from an eclipse season that straddles into the previous or following year. Click in to see two examples, the years 1935 and 1879-80.

Bottom line: Eclipse seasons are periods during which eclipses not only can take place, but must take place. There’s a minimum of two eclipses in one eclipse season and a maximum of seven eclipses possible in a calendar year. In 2026, the 1st eclipse season is in February-March, and the 2nd eclipse season is in August.

Details here: Total lunar eclipse: March 2-3 of the full Worm Moon

Read more: Annular solar eclipse on February 17, 2026

Read more: New mission could create artificial solar eclipses in space