Total lunar eclipse on March 3: India to witness rare celestial event, with regional variations in visibility

A total lunar eclipse will grace the skies on Tuesday, March 3, 2026 (12 Phalguna, 1947 Saka Era), offering a striking astronomical spectacle across most parts of India. The eclipse, confirmed by the India Meteorological Department’s Positional Astronomical Centre in Kolkata, will begin in the afternoon but will largely be visible in India during moonrise.

The celestial event occurs when the Earth comes directly between the Sun and the Moon on a full moon day, casting its shadow over the lunar surface. In a total lunar eclipse, the entire Moon passes through the Earth’s umbral shadow, often taking on a reddish hue — commonly known as a “Blood Moon.”

Eclipse Timings (IST)

Umbral phase begins: 3:20 PM

Totality begins: 4:34 PM

Totality ends: 5:33 PM

Umbral phase ends: 6:48 PM

Magnitude of eclipse: 1.155

However, since the Moon rises in India during the later stages of the eclipse, visibility will vary significantly from city to city.

North-East & Andaman: Best Seats in the Country

Residents of the North-Eastern states and the Andaman & Nicobar Islands will enjoy the most dramatic view. Cities like Dibrugarh (5:09 PM moonrise), Sibsagar (5:11 PM), Kohima (5:13 PM), Imphal (5:15 PM), Itanagar (5:15 PM), Shillong (5:23 PM), Guwahati (5:24 PM), Agartala (5:27 PM), Aizawl (5:20 PM) and Port Blair (5:27 PM) will witness not only the closing stages of the eclipse but also the end of totality phase before it concludes at 5:33 PM.

These cities will observe the eclipse for over one hour and 20 minutes, making it the most favourable region in India for viewing.

Eastern India: Clear View of Final Phases

In eastern cities such as Kolkata (5:39 PM), Cooch Behar (5:33 PM), Siliguri (5:37 PM), Patna (5:51 PM), Ranchi (5:51 PM), Bhubaneswar (5:51 PM), Cuttack (5:50 PM), Puri (5:51 PM), Sambalpur (5:58 PM) and Gaya (5:52 PM), the Moon will rise after totality has ended.

Observers here will witness the partial phase of the eclipse, with visibility ranging between 45 minutes to over an hour before the eclipse concludes at 6:48 PM.

Northern India: Brief but Visible

In Delhi (6:22 PM), Chandigarh (6:19 PM), Amritsar (6:30 PM), Jaipur (6:29 PM), Lucknow (6:07 PM), Varanasi (6:00 PM), Dehradun (6:17 PM), Shimla (6:21 PM), Srinagar (6:28 PM) and Haridwar (6:17 PM), the Moon will rise close to sunset.

These cities will witness only the last 20–40 minutes of the eclipse before it ends at 6:48 PM.

Central India: Moderate Viewing Window

Cities such as Bhopal (6:24 PM), Nagpur (6:18 PM), Raipur (6:07 PM), Ujjain (6:31 PM) and Allahabad (6:05 PM) will see the eclipse for around 25–45 minutes, depending on moonrise timing.

Western India: Very Limited Visibility

Western cities including Mumbai (6:45 PM), Ahmedabad (6:44 PM), Gandhinagar (6:44 PM), Vadodara (6:42 PM), Pune (6:41 PM), Nasik (6:41 PM), Mount Abu (6:43 PM) and Silvassa (6:44 PM) will have a narrow window of visibility — in some cases as little as 3 to 7 minutes before the eclipse ends.

In Dwarka and Rajkot, the Moon rises very close to or after the eclipse’s end, making visibility extremely limited or unlikely.

Southern India: Short Viewing Opportunity

Southern cities such as Chennai (6:17 PM), Bengaluru (6:28 PM), Hyderabad (6:22 PM), Kochi (6:35 PM), Thiruvananthapuram (6:33 PM), Madurai (6:27 PM), Mysuru (6:32 PM), Vijayawada (6:14 PM) and Kanyakumari (6:31 PM) will witness approximately 10–30 minutes of the final partial phase.

Global Visibility & What’s Next

The eclipse will also be visible across Eastern Asia, Australia, the Pacific Ocean, and the Americas.

This will be the only lunar eclipse visible from India in 2026. The next one visible from the country will occur on July 6, 2028, and it will be a partial lunar eclipse. The last lunar eclipse visible from India took place on September 7–8, 2025, and it was a total lunar eclipse.

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What Makes This Eclipse Special?

With a magnitude of 1.155, the Moon will be deeply immersed in Earth’s shadow during totality. However, for most Indian cities, the spectacle will unfold as the Moon rises — offering a rare opportunity to witness a partially eclipsed Moon emerging on the eastern horizon.

Weather permitting, skywatchers across much of the country can look forward to a brief but fascinating celestial event on the evening of March 3, marking one of the most significant astronomical occurrences of 2026.