Every so often, there are four total lunar eclipses in a row. At timeanddate.com, we also use the term “super tetrad” for a rare sequence of four consecutive total lunar eclipses plus four total or annular solar eclipses.
A Blood Moon hangs over the Royal Pavilion in Brighton, UK.
In 2021-2022, there was almost—but not quite—a tetrad
In 2021-2022, there was almost—but not quite—a tetrad.
Every six months or so, there is an eclipse season. Generally speaking, each season contains a pair of eclipses: a lunar eclipse at Full Moon, and a solar eclipse at New Moon.
The lunar eclipse can be total, partial, or penumbral; the solar eclipse can be total, annular, hybrid, or partial. The nature of each eclipse depends on the alignment of the Earth, Moon, and Sun, as well as the distances between them.
Tetrads: 4 Total Lunar Eclipses
A tetrad is a phenomenon where four consecutive eclipse seasons each contain a total lunar eclipse. In other words, it is four “Blood Moons” in a row, about six months apart. The term comes from the Greek word tetras, which means a group of four.
Tetrads are not particularly rare, although they come in interesting cycles of around 600 years. For about 300 years, there are no tetrads at all. This is followed by a period of roughly 300 years where a tetrad occurs every 15 years or so.
At the moment, we are about halfway through the second half of this cycle. The last tetrad took place in 2014-2015; the next will happen in 2032-2033.
There was almost a tetrad in 2021-2022, with total lunar eclipses on May 26, 2021, May 16, 2022, and November 8, 2022, and a big partial lunar eclipse on November 19, 2021. The magnitude of the partial eclipse was 0.97—although this was a fraction short of being total, it looked very similar to a total eclipse, and the Moon acquired a noticeably reddish tint.
“Super Tetrads”: 4 Total Lunar + 4 Total/Annular Solar Eclipses
At timeanddate.com, we have given the name “super tetrad” to another phenomenon: four consecutive eclipse seasons that each contain a total lunar eclipse plus a total or annular solar eclipse.
In other words, it is a series of eight full eclipses in a row—no partials or penumbrals—over a period of about 18 months.
A “super tetrad” is extremely rare. So far, in our data, we have only found two: 2043-2044, and 3707-3708. The dates for the 2043-2044 occurrence are as follows.
March 25, 2043: Total lunar eclipse (details here)
April 9, 2043: Total solar eclipse (details here)
September 19, 2043: Total lunar eclipse
October 3, 2043: Annular solar eclipse
February 28, 2044: Annular solar eclipse
March 13, 2044: Total lunar eclipse
August 23, 2044: Total solar eclipse
September 7, 2044: Total lunar eclipse
Three Small Solar Eclipses, and a Big One
The first three solar eclipses in the 2043-2044 “super tetrad” are small: the Moon's dark umbral or antumbral shadow only just grazes Earth. (In technical language, the 2043 solar eclipses are called non-central eclipses, because the center of the Moon's shadow misses Earth. The February 2044 solar eclipse is a central eclipse with no southern limit: although the center of the Moon's shadow strikes Earth, part of the antumbra misses Earth.)
The final solar eclipse in the sequence is a much bigger event: totality will be visible along a path that begins in Greenland, crosses northern and western Canada, and ends around sunset in Montana, North Dakota, and South Dakota.
Although the date of the eclipse based on UTC time is August 23, 2044, totality will take place on the evening of August 22, local time. There are two large cities on the path of totality: Edmonton and Calgary in Alberta, Canada.
Lunar Tetrads, 1900–2299
1909–1910 :
•Map of 3 Jun 1909 eclipse viewability
3 Jun 1909
•Map of 27 Nov 1909 eclipse viewability
27 Nov 1909
•Map of 24 May 1910 eclipse viewability
24 May 1910
•Map of 16 Nov 1910 eclipse viewability
16 Nov 1910
1927–1928:
•Map of 15 Jun 1927 eclipse viewability
15 Jun 1927
•Map of 8 Dec 1927 eclipse viewability
8 Dec 1927
•Map of 3 Jun 1928 eclipse viewability
3 Jun 1928
•Map of 27 Nov 1928 eclipse viewability
27 Nov 1928
1949–1950:
•Map of 13 Apr 1949 eclipse viewability
13 Apr 1949
•Map of 6 Oct 1949 eclipse viewability
6 Oct 1949
•Map of 2 Apr 1950 eclipse viewability
2 Apr 1950
•Map of 26 Sep 1950 eclipse viewability
26 Sep 1950
1967–1968:
•Map of 24 Apr 1967 eclipse viewability
24 Apr 1967
•Map of 18 Oct 1967 eclipse viewability
18 Oct 1967
•Map of 13 Apr 1968 eclipse viewability
13 Apr 1968
•Map of 6 Oct 1968 eclipse viewability
6 Oct 1968
1985–1986:
•Map of 4 May 1985 eclipse viewability
4 May 1985
•Map of 28 Oct 1985 eclipse viewability
28 Oct 1985
•Map of 24 Apr 1986 eclipse viewability
24 Apr 1986
•Map of 17 Oct 1986 eclipse viewability
17 Oct 1986
2003–2004:
•Map of 16 May 2003 eclipse viewability
16 May 2003
•Map of 8 Nov 2003 eclipse viewability
8 Nov 2003
•Map of 4 May 2004 eclipse viewability
4 May 2004
•Map of 28 Oct 2004 eclipse viewability
28 Oct 2004
2014–2015
•Map of 15 Apr 2014 eclipse viewability
15 Apr 2014
•Map of 8 Oct 2014 eclipse viewability
8 Oct 2014
•Map of 4 Apr 2015 eclipse viewability
4 Apr 2015
•Map of 28 Sep 2015 eclipse viewability
28 Sep 2015
2032–2033:
•Map of 25 Apr 2032 eclipse viewability
25 Apr 2032
•Map of 18 Oct 2032 eclipse viewability
18 Oct 2032
•Map of 14 Apr 2033 eclipse viewability
14 Apr 2033
•Map of 8 Oct 2033 eclipse viewability
8 Oct 2033
2043–2044:
•Map of 25 Mar 2043 eclipse viewability
25 Mar 2043
•Map of 18 Sep 2043 eclipse viewability
18 Sep 2043
•Map of 13 Mar 2044 eclipse viewability
13 Mar 2044
•Map of 7 Sep 2044 eclipse viewability
7 Sep 2044
2050–2051:
•Map of 6 May 2050 eclipse viewability
6 May 2050
•Map of 30 Oct 2050 eclipse viewability
30 Oct 2050
•Map of 25 Apr 2051 eclipse viewability
25 Apr 2051
•Map of 19 Oct 2051 eclipse viewability
19 Oct 2051
2061–2062:
•Map of 4 Apr 2061 eclipse viewability
4 Apr 2061
•Map of 29 Sep 2061 eclipse viewability
29 Sep 2061
•Map of 25 Mar 2062 eclipse viewability
25 Mar 2062
•Map of 18 Sep 2062 eclipse viewability
18 Sep 2062
2072–2073:
•Map of 4 Mar 2072 eclipse viewability
4 Mar 2072
•Map of 28 Aug 2072 eclipse viewability
28 Aug 2072
•Map of 22 Feb 2073 eclipse viewability
22 Feb 2073
•Map of 17 Aug 2073 eclipse viewability
17 Aug 2073
2090–2091:
•Map of 15 Mar 2090 eclipse viewability
15 Mar 2090
•Map of 8 Sep 2090 eclipse viewability
8 Sep 2090
•Map of 5 Mar 2091 eclipse viewability
5 Mar 2091
•Map of 28 Aug 2091 eclipse viewability
28 Aug 2091
2101–2102:
•Map of 13 Feb 2101 eclipse viewability
13 Feb 2101
•Map of 9 Aug 2101 eclipse viewability
9 Aug 2101
•Map of 3 Feb 2102 eclipse viewability
3 Feb 2102
•Map of 29 Jul 2102 eclipse viewability
29 Jul 2102
2119–2120:
•Map of 25 Feb 2119 eclipse viewability
25 Feb 2119
•Map of 20 Aug 2119 eclipse viewability
20 Aug 2119
•Map of 14 Feb 2120 eclipse viewability
14 Feb 2120
•Map of 9 Aug 2120 eclipse viewability
9 Aug 2120
2137–2138:
•Map of 7 Mar 2137 eclipse viewability
7 Mar 2137
•Map of 30 Aug 2137 eclipse viewability
30 Aug 2137
•Map of 24 Feb 2138 eclipse viewability
24 Feb 2138
•Map of 20 Aug 2138 eclipse viewability
20 Aug 2138
2155–2156:
•Map of 19 Mar 2155 eclipse viewability
19 Mar 2155
•Map of 11 Sep 2155 eclipse viewability
11 Sep 2155
•Map of 7 Mar 2156 eclipse viewability
7 Mar 2156
•Map of 30 Aug 2156 eclipse viewability
30 Aug 2156
