A Better Lunar Eclipse Map
Lunar eclipse maps can be hard to read — often more so than solar maps. Our improved map for 3 March 2026 clarifies viewing zones, local times and phases.
Perhaps you, like me, have at times been left a little confused by lunar eclipse maps.
Some maps, like the older NASA examples, indicate the area where you can see a total lunar eclipse using a clear colour. Others show the area where the entire eclipse can be viewed using a ‘blood moon’ colour, but leave the areas where you see nothing as clear. It’s confusing.
And then, some maps are designed for printing and so give times in UTC, forcing you to try to convert the times (and often requiring a change of date) in your head – always a risky proposition for me!
The new TPE (The Photographer’s Ephemeris) Lunar Eclipse Map for 3 March 2026 tries to solve these issues!
No View Zone
The ‘no view zone’ is unmistakable: it’s shown in a dark colour with 45° stripes, the universal visual mnemonic for ‘not here!’ This should resolve the ambiguity about whether ‘clear’ indicates that the eclipse is visible.
Local Times for Local People
No more time zone maths required: the new map allows you to drag and drop a map pin to your location of interest. The contact times are shown in the local time zone, with airline-style +1 suffixes for eclipses that straddle local midnight.
Dynamic Map Legend
The map legend updates according to the pin position, showing you exactly which phases of the eclipse you will and won’t see. Contact times, e.g., U1, the start of the partial eclipse, are de-emphasised if they are not visible at the selected location.
You can click on any contact time, and you’ll be taken to TPE with the app set for the selected location and time. This lets you explore the local circumstances that dictate photographic opportunities, such as the Moon’s azimuth and altitude, sightlines, and more.
We hope you like the new map – you can check it out here: 3 March 2026 – Total Lunar Eclipse.
We’ll publish more maps soon!
