
Partial lunar eclipse
People in eastern Americas, Europe, Africa, Asia, Australia will see a shallow partial lunar eclipse during the night of October 28, 2023.
Penumbral eclipse begins at 18:01 UTC on October 28 (2:01 p.m. EDT).
Partial eclipse begins at 19:34 UTC on October 28 (3:34 p.m. EDT).
Greatest eclipse at 20:14 UTC on October 28 (4:14 p.m. EDT) with an umbral magnitude of 0.12393. So only a small sliver of the moon will fall inside the umbral shadow.
Partial eclipse ends at 20:52 UTC on October 28 (4:52 p.m. EDT).
Penumbral eclipse ends at 22:26 UTC on October 28 (6:26 p.m. EDT).
Duration of eclipse: This is a shallow partial lunar eclipse with a duration of 265 minutes.
Note: Although this is considered a partial lunar eclipse, only a small fraction of the moon will enter the umbra shadow. Overall, most of this eclipse will appear as a penumbral lunar eclipse and the moon won’t change much in brightness or color.
The full moon and eclipses
As a matter of fact, a lunar eclipse can only happen at full moon, because that’s the only time the moon can be directly opposite the sun in Earth’s sky. However, the full moon in October barely passes through the north of the Earth’s dark shadow (umbra), and therefore only a shallow partial lunar eclipse in the Earth’s dark shadow can take place.
However, usually there is no eclipse at full moon. For example, in 2023, we have 13 full moons but only two lunar eclipses and neither one of them is a total lunar eclipse.
Seeing that the October 2023 full moon travels only partially through the Earth’s inner dark umbral shadow, we get a partial lunar eclipse. (See the diagram below.) Not to mention, the penumbral stage of the eclipse is so faint that many people won’t even notice it, even as it’s taking place. From start to finish, the eclipse lasts 285 minutes. However, the moon will only be in Earth’s dark shadow for the partial eclipse a total of 78 minutes. Also, only a small portion of the moon – about 12% – will be eclipsed by Earth’s dark shadow.
Read more: Why no eclipse at every full and new moon?

Who can see lunar eclipses
The fact is, a full moon is up only at night. And a total lunar eclipse is visible from all of Earth that is experiencing night while the eclipse is taking place. However, some will see the eclipse better than others, depending on location. For example, some will see it at moonrise or moonset, when the moon is low in the sky.
Of course, lunar eclipses are safe to view with the unaided eye. Even though binoculars and telescopes aren’t required to view a lunar eclipse, they do enhance the view.
The path of the moon during the partial lunar eclipse
The October 28, 2023, partial lunar eclipse occurs when the moon is in the constellation of Aries the Ram. Our second brightest planet, Jupiter, is near the full moon as well.
Find the moon’s path with respect to Earth’s umbral and penumbral shadows below.

Visit Timeanddate.com to get an exact timing of the eclipse from your location.
Eclipses in 2023
On May 5, 2023, a penumbral lunar eclipse was preceded two weeks earlier by a hybrid solar eclipse on April 20, 2023. The fact is, these two eclipses took place within a single eclipse season.
An eclipse season is an approximate 35-day period during which it’s inevitable for at least two (and possibly three) eclipses to take place.
Currently, the October 2023 eclipse season will feature a annular solar eclipse on October 14, 2023, and this very shallow partial lunar eclipse on October 28, 2023.
Maps and data for the partial lunar eclipse
- Visual Appearance of Lunar Eclipses
- Danjon Scale of Lunar Eclipse Brightness
- October 28, 2023, eclipse map and animation
Visit Timeanddate.com to get an exact timing of the eclipse from your location.
Submit your lunar eclipse photo to EarthSky here.
More resources

Bottom line: A partial lunar eclipse happens during the night of October 28, 2023. It’s visible from eastern Americas, Europe, Africa, Asia, Australia.
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