Observers from Europe to Australia will see the final lunar eclipse of 2025 this weekend.
Live in the eastern hemisphere? If skies are clear, you have a chance to see a remarkable sight this Sunday night into Monday morning: the ‘Blood Moon’ of a total lunar eclipse.
A lunar eclipse occurs when the Moon passes into the Earth’s shadow. The orbit of the Moon is tipped 5.15 degrees versus the ecliptic plane traced out by the path of the Sun. This means that most Full Moons miss the Earth’s inner dark shadow cone, which is three times the diameter of the Moon at the same distance.
When the intersection of Moon’s orbit versus the ecliptic (known as its ascending or descending nodes) line up in what’s known as a syzygy, eclipse seasons occur. These seasons are spaced out about six months apart. This weekend’s total lunar eclipse marks the start of the final eclipse season for 2025, book-ended by the partial solar eclipse two weeks from now on September 21st.
The eclipse favors the Indian Ocean region in its entirety. Europe sees the eclipse already underway at moonrise, while Australia catches it in progress at moonset. Only the Americas sit this one out. The Indian Ocean and surrounding regions will see the eclipse transpire high in the sky, while the regions that catch it at dawn or dusk will have an opportunity to nab the photogenic eclipsed Moon along with foreground objects. Think architecture, monuments, hills, etc.
The visibility circumstances worldwide, for Sunday night's eclipse. Credit: NASA/GSFC.
This particular eclipse occurs just 15 days prior to the southward equinox on September 22nd. Note that the 2025 Harvest Moon nearest the September equinox actually falls in October this year, on the 6th. This also means that the eclipse occurs in the astronomical constellation Aquarius, south of the celestial equator. The Moon occupies the region of the sky the Sun will visit about six months from now in March.
Watching Totality
Though the eclipse technically begins at 15:28 Universal Time (UT) on the evening of Sunday September 7th, don’t expect to see much more than a tea-colored shading on the northeastern limb of the Moon about 30 minutes afterwards. Would you notice that anything was amiss with the Moon, with just a quick glance?
The Sunday path of the Moon through the Earth's shadow. Adapted from NASA/GSFC.
The Moon then starts to enter the dark inner umbra of the Earth at 16:27 UT. Totality for this one lasts just over 82 minutes and starts at 17:30 UT. The entire eclipse—from first to final penumbral contact—is 5 five hours and 27 minutes in duration.
The November 2022 total lunar eclipse. Credit: Eliot Herman
The onset of totality presents a ragged curve of the Earth’s shadow, simple visual proof that we indeed inhabit a spherical world. Unlike the fleeting experience of a total solar eclipse, a total lunar eclipse is a leisurely affair. Expect the famous ‘blood Moon’ effect to become readily apparent, as the Moon becomes fully immersed in the umbral shadow.
Standing on the Earthward surface of the Moon, you would see a total solar eclipse. And while no human eyes have yet to witness this scene from such an enviable standpoint, Firefly Aerospace’s Blue Ghost Lander did successfully show us what such a spectacle would look like from its Mare Crisium landing site last March.
You’re seeing the light of a thousand sunsets, refracted around the limb of the Earth and its atmosphere worldwide into its dark inner shadow and across the face of the Moon.
This is where each total lunar eclipse takes on an individual character of its own. The exact tint you’ll see depends on the amount of dust and aerosols currently suspended in the atmosphere. This means that during mid-totality, the Moon can actually appear anywhere from a bright cherry-red to a dull brick brown, with hints of everything from orange, to yellow, to even a tinge of steely blue thrown into the palette. During the December 9th, 1992 eclipse post eruption of the Mount Pinatubo volcano in the Philippines, the Moon seemed to nearly disappear all together during totality. The scale that describes the Moon’s appearance during totality is known as its Danjon Number, running from L4 (bright) to L0 (dark). What colors do you see at the height of totality?
Watching the Eclipse Live
Got a DwarfLab smartscope? We recently reviewed their new Dwarf3 unit for Universe Today. DwarfLab is not only carrying this weekend’s eclipse live (a bonus for those of us sitting this one out in the Americas) but is also running an eclipse photo competition, complete with prizes.
Our Dwarf3 smartscope capture of the March 2025 total lunar eclipse. Credit: Dave Dickinson.
Finally, you can also witness the eclipse live starting at 17:45 UT on September 7th, courtesy of robotic telescopes based in Manciano, Italy and hosted by astronomer Gianluca Masi and the Virtual Telescope.
Fear not, denizens of the Americas, you’re up next, with the first eclipse of the Moon for 2026, a total lunar eclipse on March 3rd. Don’t miss the final total lunar eclipse of 2025 this coming weekend, either in person or online.
Lead image credit: Nazmus Nasir/Flickr
