How to see the 28 October partial lunar eclipse

Eclipse-chasers in the UK and mainland Europe haven't had much to get excited about on their home turf this year!

The hybrid solar eclipse of 20 April was only visible over a narrow path around Indonesia and Australia, while the upcoming partial solar eclipse on 14 October will be restricted to observers in North America and South America.

However, there is a glimmer of relief in the shape of a partial lunar eclipse that will be visible over the UK, Ireland and mainland Europe on 28 October 2023.

It will also be visible over much of Africa, the Middle East and Asia, but will only be visible in the eastern Americas during Moonrise, and in western Australia during Moonset.

Read our guide and find out when the next eclipse is taking place

This will be a small partial lunar eclipse, meaning only a relatively narrow portion of the Moon will be subject to darkening caused by Earth's shadow passing over its surface.

The extreme southern part of the Moon will be clipped by Earth’s dark, umbral shadow between 20:35-21:53 BST (19:35-20:53 UT).

As an added bonus, this autumnal lunar eclipse will occur in the evening and will be accompanied by the planet Jupiter in the night sky, making for a great observing and imaging opportunity.

What is a lunar eclipse?

A lunar eclipse occurs as Earth passes between the Sun and the Moon, blocking the passage of sunlight to the lunar surface.

This causes a darkening and change of colour on the surface of the Moon.

Any sunlight that does manage to sneak past Earth and hit the lunar surface will be refracted by our planet's atmosphere, which is what causes the rusty red colour seen during a total lunar eclipse.

This refraction of sunlight is indicated by the bent line in the above illustration.

As the Sun’s rays intercept Earth, it causes two different zones of shadow to form:

• Penumbra, where some of the Sun is always seen
• Umbra, where the Sun is completely hidden by Earth

During a total lunar eclipse the entire Moon will appear red, but during a partial eclipse just a portion will appear red.

28 October lunar eclipse timings

During the 28 October partial lunar eclipse, the penumbral stage will occur for 4 hours 24 minutes.

The umbral stage will occur for 1 hour 17 minutes, and this is the stage that you want to observe.

Key timings are listed below:

• Penumbral eclipse starts at 19:02 BST (18:02 UTC)
• Partial umbral eclipse starts at 20:35 BST (19:35 UTC)
• Greatest eclipse is at 21:14 BST (20:14 UTC)
• Partial umbral eclipse ends at 21:53 BST (20:52 UTC)
• Penumbral eclipse ends at 23:26 BST (22:26 UTC)

Greatest eclipse magnitude will be 12.2% and just 6% of the Moon's surface will be covered by the Moon's umbra during greatest eclipse.

This means the effect will be quite subtle, and so it's certainly worth keeping an eye on your timings, as this will help you discern the change in the Moon's appearance.

Indeed, for subtle eclipses such as this, it's of great advantage to contemporary observers that scientists can predict when the next eclipse will happen.

Capturing multiple shots of the Moon before, during and after the eclipse using a DSLR camera on a tripod is a good way of recording the changes, as you can compare the Moon's appearance during the event more easily.

For more advice, read our guide on how to photograph the Moon.

And if you do manage to observe or photograph this lunar eclipse, be sure to send us your images.