Lunar Eclipse 2025: How And When To Watch The ‘Blood Moon’ Lunar Eclipse This March
3rd Mar 2025
This year, spring begins beautifully with an astronomical event you can’t possibly miss. The night between 13 and 14 March offers sky-gazers a marvellous celestial show – a total lunar eclipse, often called the Blood Moon. It sounds like something straight out of a horror film, doesn’t it? But don’t be scared. We’ll explain what’s happening and why this event has such an ominous name. Also, discover where and when exactly to see it, how long it will last, and tips for the best viewing experience.
The Science Behind The Lunar Eclipse
Total lunar eclipses happen at the full moon phase when the Sun, Earth, and Moon are aligned to form a straight or almost straight line. During this event, Earth is positioned right between the Moon and the Sun, blocking the sunlight and casting a shadow on the Moon.
Earth has three types of shadows:
- Umbra (Latin for “shadow”) – the darkest part of a shadow, where the light source is completely blocked. An observer within the umbra experiences a total eclipse
- Penumbra (Latin paene “almost, nearly” and umbra “shadow”) – the outer part. An observer in the penumbra experiences a partial eclipse
- Antumbra (Latin ante “before” and umbra “shadow”) – the partly shaded area beyond the umbra. An observer in the antumbra experiences an annular eclipse, in which a bright ring is visible around the eclipsing body.
Each lunar eclipse is visible from half of the Earth.
Why is It Called the “Blood Moon”?
Blood Moon is not a scientific term and it has nothing to do with blood or death. That’s just because the moon turns a coppery red during any total lunar eclipse, creating an amazing view for those who can observe it in the sky.
The reason why the Moon takes on a reddish color during totality is a phenomenon called Rayleigh scattering. It is the same mechanism that causes colorful sunrises and sunsets, and the sky to look blue.
Light travels in waves, and different colors of light have different physical properties. Blue light has a shorter wavelength and is scattered more easily in Earth’s atmosphere than red light, which has a longer wavelength.
Red light travels more directly through the atmosphere. When the Sun is overhead, we see blue light throughout the sky. But when the Sun is setting, sunlight must pass through more atmosphere and travel farther before reaching our eyes. The blue light from the Sun scatters away, and longer-wavelength red light passes through.
The same is happening during a lunar eclipse. The Moon is hidden from the sunlight, and the only light that reaches the Moon’s surface is from the edges of the Earth’s atmosphere.
It scatters sunlight, the blue light from the Sun scatters away, and longer-wavelength red light passes through, turning the Moon red. It’s as if all the world’s sunrises and sunsets are projected onto the Moon.
Depending on the composition of the atmosphere, different parts of the light spectrum are filtered out, so the Moon may have different shades: more orange, yellow or even brown. also look yellow, orange, or brown during a total lunar eclipse.
How Rare Is It?
Lunar eclipses are less common than solar eclipses, with a maximum of three occurring per year, though some years there can be none at all. However, only about 29% of all lunar eclipses are total lunar eclipses. On average, a total lunar eclipse can be observed every two and a half years.
Previously, the total lunar eclipse (Blood Moon) appeared in the sky on 15-16 May 2022.
It was visible in parts of the North and South Americas, Antarctica, Europe, Africa, the east Pacific, New Zealand, eastern Europe and the Middle East.
The Best Time To See The March 2025 Lunar Eclipse
The penumbral phase of the eclipse will begin at 3:57 am on 14th March. Partial Eclipse begins at 05:09 am. The total eclipse begins at 6:26 am, and will hit its peak at 6:58 am – when it has set below the horizon in the UK. T
he Moonset in the UK is at 06:22 am, so the best time for the UK to witness the beautiful show will be at around 6:19 am.
But if you miss the eclipse this March for some reason – don’t worry, another total eclipse will occur later this year, on 7th September.
Visibility In The UK
As we can see from the screenshot above, on most of the territory of the UK some of the total lunar eclipse on 14 March will be visible. But not all British people are so lucky – on the South-Eastern part of the territory the visibility will be a bit worse, only partial and penumbrial.
Viewing Tips
Lunar eclipses can be viewed without any eye protection and it is advisable to use binoculars or a telescope to enhance the view. However, with the naked eye the view will also be amazing if the sky is clear.
Of course, the best viewing conditions are in a dark environment away from bright lights, this ensures the brightest colour of the moon and attention to all the details. Here you can find our articles about the best places in the UK to watch this amazing celestial event:
You may also explore the International Dark Sky Places to find the best spot to observe the lunar eclipse in March 2025.
Don’t forget to check the weather forecast a day before the event and take warm and cozy clothes. Still, it’s quite chilly in March.
How to Watch The Lunar Eclipse Online
If you prefer enjoying the marvellous Blood Moon in the warmth and cosiness of your home, you can watch the live stream of the total lunar eclipse. So, when it’s time, gather your friends and family members, and click on this link to watch it live:
Interesting Facts About The Eclipse
The whole eclipse, including all its phases, will last for 6 hours and 3 minutes, while the total eclipse will be visible only for 1 hour and 5 minutes.
Only 863 million people – just 10.54% of the world’s population – will have the chance to witness the entire eclipse from beginning to end. So, don’t be too disappointed that this time you won’t witness all the phases of this spectacular event – most of the world won’t either!
The best views will be in Canada, most of the United States, Mexico and in most countries of South America. People there will be able to watch the entire lunar eclipse in March – truly lucky indeed!
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