Home   Sun & Moon   Eclipses   November 8–9, 2003 Total Lunar Eclipse (Blood Moon)

November 8–9, 2003 Total Lunar Eclipse (Blood Moon)

Was this Total Lunar Eclipse visible in Washington DC?

What This Lunar Eclipse Looked Like

The curvature of the shadow's path and the apparent rotation of the Moon's disk is due to the Earth's rotation.

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Where the Eclipse Was Seen

Try our new interactive eclipse maps. Zoom in and search for accurate eclipse times and visualizations for any location.

Regions seeing, at least, some parts of the eclipse: Europe, Asia, Africa, North America, South America, Pacific, Atlantic, Indian Ocean, Arctic, Antarctica.

Expand for some cities where at least part of the total eclipse was visible

Was this eclipse visible in Washington DC?

Eclipse Map and Animation

The animation shows where this total lunar eclipse is visible during the night (dark “wave” slowly moving across the Earth's surface).

Shades of darkness

Night, moon high up in sky.

Moon between 12 and 18 degrees above horizon.

Moon between 6 and 12 degrees above horizon. Make sure you have free line of sight.

Moon between 0 and 6 degrees above horizon. May be hard to see due to brightness and line of sight.

Day, moon and eclipse both not visible.

Note: Twilight will affect the visibility of the eclipse, as well as weather.

Entire eclipse was visible from start to end

Entire partial and total phases were visible. Missed part of penumbral phase.

Entire total phase was visible. Missed part of partial & penumbral phases.

Some of the total phase was visible. Missed part of total, partial & penumbral phases.

Some of the partial phase was visible. Missed total phase and part of partial & penumbral phases.

Some of the penumbral phase was visible. Missed total & partial phases.

Eclipse was not visible at all.

Note: Areas with lighter shadings left (West) of the center will experience the eclipse after moonrise/sunset. Areas with lighter shadings right (East) of the center will experience the eclipse until moonset/sunrise. Actual eclipse visibility depends on weather conditions and line of sight to the Moon.

When the Eclipse Happened Worldwide — Timeline

Lunar eclipses can be visible from everywhere on the night side of the Earth, if the sky is clear. From some places the entire eclipse will be visible, while in other areas the Moon will rise or set during the eclipse.

EventUTC TimeTime in Washington DC*Visible in Washington DC
Penumbral Eclipse beganNov 8 at 22:16:58Nov 8 at 5:16:58 pmYes
Partial Eclipse beganNov 8 at 23:32:51Nov 8 at 6:32:51 pmYes
Full Eclipse beganNov 9 at 01:07:35Nov 8 at 8:07:35 pmYes
Maximum EclipseNov 9 at 01:18:35Nov 8 at 8:18:35 pmYes
Full Eclipse endedNov 9 at 01:29:32Nov 8 at 8:29:32 pmYes
Partial Eclipse endedNov 9 at 03:04:16Nov 8 at 10:04:16 pmYes
Penumbral Eclipse endedNov 9 at 04:20:11Nov 8 at 11:20:11 pmYes

* The Moon was above the horizon during this eclipse, so with good weather conditions in Washington DC, the entire eclipse was visible.

Eclipse calculations usually accurate to a few seconds.

Quick Facts About This Eclipse

DataValueComments
Magnitude1.018Fraction of the Moon’s diameter covered by Earth’s umbra
Obscuration100.0%Percentage of the Moon's area covered by Earth's umbra
Penumbral magnitude2.114Fraction of the Moon's diameter covered by Earth's penumbra
Overall duration6 hours, 3 minutesPeriod between the beginning and end of all eclipse phases
Duration of totality22 minutesPeriod between the beginning and end of the total phase
Duration of partial phases3 hours, 9 minutesCombined period of both partial phases
Duration of penumbral phases2 hours, 32 minutesCombined period of both penumbral phases

An Eclipse Never Comes Alone!

A solar eclipse always occurs about two weeks before or after a lunar eclipse.

Usually, there are two eclipses in a row, but other times, there are three during the same eclipse season.

All eclipses 1900 — 2199

This is the first eclipse this season.

Second eclipse this season: November 23–24, 2003 — Total Solar Eclipse