A Journey Through Time: Exploring the 7 Longest Lunar Eclipses Ever Recorded in Human History

Lunar eclipses can be slow, quiet, and hypnotic — the Moon slips into Earth’s shadow and sometimes turns a deep red. Some eclipses last much longer than others, and when you see a very long total lunar eclipse, several things are working together: the Moon is near apogee (so it moves more slowly), the Moon’s path takes it near the center of Earth’s shadow (so it spends more time inside), and the geometry of Sun–Earth–Moon is just right. NASA’s eclipse catalogs and eclipse specialists have measured and listed these long events carefully. 

Here is a list of seven of the longest total lunar eclipses recorded (or calculated) over the long span of human history. For each eclipse I give the date, the measured or catalogued length of totality (the time the Moon is completely inside Earth’s darkest shadow), a short plain-English note about why it was long, and a source you can check for more detail.

1. 31 May 318 CE — Totality (1 hr 46 min 36 sec)

This eclipse is widely listed in five-millennium eclipse catalogues as the longest total lunar eclipse in the long record that covers from 2000 BCE to 3000 CE. It spent an extraordinary amount of time in totality because the Moon passed very near the centre of Earth’s shadow while moving relatively slowly. The NASA/EclipseWise catalogues record this as the longest total lunar eclipse in that multi-millennium dataset. 

2. 16 July 2000 — Totality (1 hr 46 min)

This modern eclipse came very close to the theoretical maximum for total lunar eclipse totality. The Moon was near apogee (a bit smaller in apparent size and moving more slowly), and its path took it deeply through Earth’s umbral shadow, which is a perfect recipe for an unusually long total. NASA’s site and eclipse summaries note its near-maximum duration. 

3. 24 May 1584 — Totality (1 hr 46 min 05 sec)

The 16th-century eclipse of 1584 is another exceptionally long event recorded in eclipse catalogues. As with the others, the long totality comes from a deep, central passage through Earth’s umbra and favourable Moon orbital geometry. 

4. 27–28 July 2018 — Totality (1 hr 42 min 57 sec) 

This is the best-known long eclipse of recent times and is often called the longest total lunar eclipse of the 21st century. It was central (the Moon passed near the shadow’s centre) and occurred shortly after apogee, so totality was unusually long — about 1 hour and 43 minutes. Space and astronomy outlets and TimeandDate summarised and measured it carefully, and many observers worldwide watched a spectacular “blood moon.” 

5. 16 July 1443 (or 12 July 1443 depending on calendar transcription) — long totality

Medieval eclipses like this one are recorded in historical and modern eclipse catalogues; several eclipses in the 1400s produced exceptionally long totalities because of similar geometric conditions (deep umbral passage and Moon near apogee). For specifics, eclipse catalog pages and historical compilations list these medieval long events. 

6. 13 May 1905 — Long Totality

Early 20th-century eclipses also show up on lists of long eclipses. The May 1905 event is commonly included in compilations of unusually long total lunar eclipses. NASA Catalogue pages and historical eclipse lists provide the technical timings. 

7. 7 August 54 CE — Long Totality Recorded in Long-Eclipse Lists

Ancient and early–historic eclipses sometimes appear in long-eclipse lists compiled from astronomical back-calculations. The August 54 CE eclipse is one such event that shows up among long total lunar eclipses in modern catalogs and popular compilations. 

Long lunar eclipses are a wonderful reminder of how our planet and Moon are locked in a slow, precise dance. When the timing and geometry align — Moon slow near apogee, path through the heart of Earth’s shadow — we get the slow, lovely drama of a long total lunar eclipse. If you ever get the chance to watch one live, take your time: an hour of totality is several lifetimes in eclipse terms.