What time is the blood moon total lunar eclipse on March 3?

A total lunar eclipse will occur on March 3, creating a dramatic red “blood moon” for skywatchers across North America, Australia and East Asia.

During the March lunar eclipse, totality — when the moon is fully immersed in Earth’s dark umbral shadow and appears blood-red — will begin at 6:04 a.m. EST (1104 GMT) on March 3 and peak at 6:33 a.m. EST (1133 GMT). Totality will last for approximately 58 minutes, after which the moon will begin to exit from Earth’s shadow.

Over 40% of the world’s population will be able to see at least some of the total phase of the lunar eclipse. That’s over three billion people, according to Time and Date. It will be the last total lunar eclipse anywhere on Earth until New Year’s Eve 2028-2029.

Key viewing times

Here are some key viewing times for the March 3 total lunar eclipse across different time zones, according to Time and Date:

• Eastern time: 6:04-7:02 a.m. EST on March 3, 2026 (the moon will set during totality in the Eastern time zone)
• Central time: 5:04-6:02 a.m. CST on March 3, 2026
• Mountain time: 4:04-5:02 a.m. MST on March 3, 2026
• Pacific time: 3:04-4:02 a.m PST on March 3, 2026
• Alaska time: 2:04-3:02 a.m. AKST on March 3, 2026
• Hawaii time: 1:04-2:02 a.m. HST on March 3, 2026
• New Zealand: 12:04-1:02 a.m. NZDT on March 4, 2026
• Sydney: 10:04-11:02 p.m. AEDT on March 3, 2026
• Brisbane, Australia: 9:04-10:02 p.m. AEST on March 3, 2026
• Adelaide, Australia: 9:34-10:32 p.m. ACDT on March 3, 2026
• Darwin, Australia: 8:34-9:32 p.m. on March 3, 2026
• Perth, Australia: 7:04-8:02 p.m. on March 3, 2026
• Tokyo: 8:04-9:02 p.m. JST on March 3, 2026
• Seoul: 8:04-9:02 p.m. KST on March 3, 2026
• Beijing: 7:04-8:02 p.m. CST on March 3, 2026
• Hong Kong: 7:04-8:02 p.m. HKT on March 3, 2026

If you’re unable to catch the lunar eclipse in person, we’ll be livestreaming the event on Space.com. You can also follow along with the latest updates in our lunar eclipse live blog.

What will happen?

The eclipse begins at 3:44 a.m. EST (0844 GMT) when the moon enters Earth’s penumbral shadow, causing a subtle shading effect. As it moves deeper into the umbra, a dark shadow will creep across the lunar surface and the moon will turn a reddish-orange hue during maximum eclipse. The overall duration of the lunar eclipse will be 5 hours and 39 minutes.