How to Use: Eclipse City Page

The Sun or Moon illustration near the top of the page indicates what the eclipse will look or looked like at its peak, the moment it reaches the greatest magnitude, in the selected location. The local date and time of that moment are displayed above the illustration.

Eclipses look different depending on your location. For example, a total solar eclipse appears as a partial solar eclipse if you are outside the narrow band of the central portion of the Moon's shadow, the umbra.

Global Event shows this particular eclipse's maximum point anywhere on Earth. Which type of eclipse it is/was in your selected location, is shown next to Local Type in the row below.

If you want to see what any eclipse is/was like at the maximum point, go to the eclipse's main page via the large blue link just above the main animation.

The local start and end times of the eclipse are displayed near the top of the page. Rise and set times are taken into account. For example, if the Sun rises during the eclipse, the start time displayed here refers to the time of sunrise in the selected location.

Maximum or Max refers to the moment when the eclipse reaches its peak in the selected location. For planet transits, Midpoint is displayed instead. All times are local.

The Duration field shows the time span between the beginning and end of the eclipse in the selected location. This value is rounded, so it may differ by 1 minute from the mathematical difference between the start and end times displayed above it.

Only displayed for total solar eclipses, the Totality field shows how long the Sun appears completely obscured in the location.

For annular solar eclipses, Annularity shows how long the ring of fire is visible, when the Moon is positioned centrally in front of the Sun and the rim of the Sun's disk is visible around it.

The Magnitude is a number showing the size of the eclipse. For solar eclipses, it indicates how much of the Sun's disk is obscured by the Moon, as seen from the selected location; in the case of lunar eclipses, it shows how large a portion of the Moon's visible surface is enveloped by the Earth's shadow. Read more about eclipse magnitudes here.

The map near the top shows where the eclipse is visible. A pin shows the selected location. Click on the map for more information about its visibility.

Use the search field to open the Eclipse City Page for a different location. The search supports ZIP/postal codes for several countries, including the United States and Canada.

You can also enter geographic coordinates (longitude and latitude) to find the same information for any place on Earth.

Problems? See “The city search lists several places with the same name. Which is the one I'm looking for?” in the FAQ: Troubleshooting section below.

Flick through the tabs next to the search field to access the Main City Page (Time/General tab) or other sub-pages dedicated to specific topics, such as Weather, Time Zone, and DST Changes in the city.

The animation gives an indication of what the eclipse will look or looked like in the selected location. It takes into account the actual eclipse visibility in the selected location, so it remains blank/black when the Sun or Moon is below the horizon.

The local time is shown in the top-right corner of the animation. To find out about the time zone used in the location, click on the time zone abbreviation next to the time display.

• Click on the play button to start the animation and use the progress bar to fast forward or rewind.
• To show or hide the perimeter of the Earth's shadows for lunar eclipses and the outline of the Sun and Moon for solar eclipses, click on the symbol showing two circles on the right of the progress bar.
• To see the animation in full-screen mode, click the rectangle in the bottom-right corner of the animation.

Problems? See “Why is the animation completely blank/black?” in the FAQ: Troubleshooting section below.

The table below the animation shows information for the most important stages of the eclipse, as seen from the selected location. Like the animation, this takes into account the local times for sunrise/sunset and moonrise/moonset.

It includes the local times and the direction and altitude of the Sun or Moon for each stage of the eclipse. It also provides an indication of what each phase looks like.

The table at the bottom lists all eclipses visible in the selected location in the years 1900-2199. Use the drop-down in the top-right corner of the table to select a different time span. Click on the links in the table for more information about each eclipse.

For a full list of all eclipses worldwide, please go here.

The animation takes into account the visibility of the eclipse in the selected location. For portions of the eclipse when the Sun or Moon is below the horizon, the animation just shows a representation of an empty sky. Use the progress bar at the bottom of the animation to jump to a point in time when the eclipse is visible.

The start time we display for lunar eclipses refers to the moment when the Earth's penumbra starts to move across the lunar surface. The penumbra is a much lighter shadow than the umbra, so it may be difficult to spot. That's why penumbral lunar eclipses are sometimes difficult to distinguish from a normal Full Moon.

If the eclipse you are witnessing is a total or partial lunar eclipse, just wait a little longer until the Earth's umbra falls on the Moon. To find out when that will occur, click on Expand for more details on eclipse events and times.

Once an eclipse is underway, the animation switches to a real-time representation of what it looks like in the location, assuming the skies are clear. In that case, LIVE at the bottom of the animation and the dot next to it turn red to indicate real-time mode.

The animation does not show live imagery but tracks the progress of the eclipse in real-time. However, we offer a live stream, including footage, commentary, and background information, for some eclipses in our LIVE Event Center.

Both the duration and the start and end times of the eclipse displayed at the top of the page are rounded to the nearest minute. This can result in a discrepancy of up to 1 minute between the duration value on the one hand and the difference between start and end time on the other.

To use our new map location picker, click on the search field and then on Open Map. To choose your location, click on the map and click Select. Clicking Cancel closes the window.

You can use the search field to find your location, and then refine it by clicking on the map to get closer to your desired location. Clicking the target icon will take you to the location you have customized in the settings.

Using the zoom:

• The plus and minus symbols on the map zoom it in and out.
• You can move the map around in the window by clicking and holding your mouse button. If you are on a mobile or tablet, you move the map by holding your finger down.
• Click the mouse button or tap your finger to drop a pin on your desired location. If you have the map zoomed out, it will snap to the nearest location. Zooming right in will give you the coordinates of the location.

We appreciate your feedback! The map location picker is a BETA service, so it is still under development. If you find anything wrong or have suggestions to improve it, please let us know.

Our database of locations includes thousands of cities worldwide, and we now offer an additional 6 million places via the GeoNames database. If you still don't find your town, please let us know, and we will consider adding it.

We support both 24-hour and 12-hour (am/pm) clock formats. To change the format, please go to My Units and make a selection in the Time Format drop-down.

The Eclipse City Pages provide information about an eclipse in the selected location. To find more general information about the same eclipse on a global scale, click on the world map near the top of the page.

Direction and altitude are used in the horizontal coordinate system to locate celestial objects in the sky.

Our Articles About Eclipses page is a good starting point for learning about eclipses.

Yes, our city search engine supports ZIP and postal codes for the United States (5-digit ZIP codes only), Canada (first 3 letters/digits only), Germany, Austria, Switzerland, and Norway.

Yes, you can look up any location by entering geographic coordinates (latitude and longitude) into the search field.

Please use one of the following formats:

• Degrees and minutes, e.g., 40.42N 73.59W
• Decimal format, e.g., 40.71 -73.98

You can look up any location on Earth by entering geographic coordinates (latitude and longitude) into the search field.

Please use one of the following formats:

• Degrees and minutes, e.g., 40.42N 73.59W
• Decimal format, e.g., 40.71 -73.98

When you type the location into the search field and it suggests several places by the same name, first have a look at the country flag and the description in parentheses to identify the city you are looking for. If it is still unclear, click on one of the locations and check the geographical position on the map or click on the Time/General tab and check the longitude/latitude information shown near the top of the page.

All directions displayed on the Eclipse City Page and in any other service on timeanddate.com are based on true north, unless otherwise stated.

We are a small team with very extensive websites to manage, so, unfortunately, we do not have the capacity to share detailed information about our algorithms or provide programming help.

The General FAQ Page answers your questions about timeanddate.com, our services, site-wide settings, customization options, advertising opportunities, and copyright policies.