After a long wait of 857 days, a total lunar eclipse is finally on the calendar for 2025. The morning of March 14th brings a special astronomical event visible to the Americas, which is also called a Blood Moon. The only other lunar eclipse this year in September will not be visible to the Western Hemisphere, so you do not want to miss this one.
What Is A Lunar Eclipse?
A lunar eclipse happens when the moon passes into the shadow of the Earth. The lunar surface darkens and turns red. Because the moon’s orbit is tilted relative to the Earth, eclipses only happen occasionally instead of every month. During a lunar eclipse sunlight passes through Earth’s atmosphere at a steep angle, reddening due to Rayleigh Scattering. Sunsets and sunrises are red for the same reason, and this warm light gets passed on to the moon. But the exact color varies with every lunar eclipse. This is determined by several factors, including whether the moon passes through the center of the shadow or only the edge. The clarity of Earth’s atmosphere also has an effect, with smoke, water vapor, or volcanic ash all influencing the color. Colors can range from gray to blood red, brown, copper, or orange. The brightness of the moon will vary as well.
Lunar Eclipse vs. Solar Eclipse
A solar eclipse happens when the Earth passes into the shadow of the moon. This is only visible during the day, while a lunar eclipse is visible at night. A solar eclipse can only happen during a new moon phase, while a lunar eclipse only happens during a full moon phase. Solar eclipses can be dangerous to observe without proper filters, while a lunar eclipse poses no risk to your eyesight. A total solar eclipse is only seen in a very narrow path, making them extremely rare in any given place. But a lunar eclipse on the other hand is usually visible from half the planet. Totality lasts only minutes during a solar eclipse, and a badly timed cloud could easily ruin the view. But totality during a lunar eclipse lasts upwards of an hour. When it comes to pure awe and wonder, the solar eclipse wins. But lunar eclipses are still fascinating, easier to see, and much more frequent.
Eclipse Phases
Lunar eclipses have different phases depending on which part of Earth’s shadow the moon is in. This shadow has 2 parts, one lighter, and one darker. The lighter shadow is called the Penumbra. The penumbral phase is very subtle. It may be hard to even notice because the moon barely darkens at all. The darker shadow is called the Umbra. When the moon partially the enters the umbra, this is the Partial phase. The shadow on the moon will be gray at first, but it will start to turn red as it expands across the moon. When the moon is totally in the shadow of the umbra, this is the Total phase. These steps will then repeat in reverse. To see the entire eclipse with all the phases, totality needs to occur during the middle of the night. If totality happens during dusk or dawn, then you will only see half of the event. If totality happens during the daytime, then the moon will be below the horizon and you will not see it at all.
Timing
Greatest totality happens at 06:58 UTC on March 14th, 2025. If you can’t watch the whole event, that is when you will want to look. This will be the night of March 13th or the early hours of March 14th, depending on your time zone. Totality begins at 06:25 UTC, and ends at 7:32 UTC, lasting 66 minutes. The timing of other phases is listed below. Click on each time to convert to your local time zone.
| Phase | Time |
|---|---|
| Penumbral begins | 03:57 UTC March 14 |
| Partial begins | 5:09 UTC March 14 |
| Totality begins | 6:25 UTC March 14 |
| Greatest totality | 6:58 UTC March 14 |
| Totality ends | 7:31 UTC March 14 |
| Partial ends | 8:47 UTC March 14 |
| Penumbral ends | 10:00 UTC March 14 |
| Totality length | 66 minutes |
| Partial length | 218 minutes |
| Penumbral length | 363 minutes |
Visibility
The March 14th, 2025 lunar eclipse will be visible from virtually all of North America and South America. Only parts of Brazil will miss the very end. West Africa and far Western Europe will see the eclipse only at moonset in the dawn sky. Parts of the Western Pacific will only see the eclipse at moonrise in the dusk sky. If you want to visualize exactly where the moon will be and what it will look like in your sky, I recommend an app or software like Stellarium.
Dark Skies?
Should you go to a dark site to see a lunar eclipse? The answer is yes and no. The visibility of the moon itself is not affected by light pollution. Point a telescope at it and it will look exactly the same from a city or the countryside. But there are other effects of the eclipse that require dark skies to see. During a solar eclipse the sky around you darkens dramatically. The same thing happens with a lunar eclipse, though perhaps not as dramatic. Before the eclipse begins the full moon is so bright that it washes out most of the stars. Then the moon darkens. You suddenly go from barely seeing hundreds of stars, to thousands. The Milky Way might come out, or perhaps the aurora. A full moon and a dark sky are normally enemies of each other. But seeing them both side by side is amazing. In my opinion everyone should experience a lunar eclipse from a dark sky location at least once. But if you can’t, then viewing a lunar eclipse from a bright city is still worth it, especially with a telescope. Note that if totality occurs during dawn or dusk, seeking dark skies will be pointless. The sky will only darken if totality happens during the middle of the night.
Photography Tips
One of the hardest scenes to photograph is a full moon in the middle of the night, with the landscape below. The dynamic range of a moonlit scene is extreme, and no camera sensor yet can match human eyesight. But fortunately it’s a lot easier when the moon is eclipsed. The moon is much darker and the lighting more closely matches the landscape. That said it can still be tricky to capture everything in a single shot, without the moon blown out. Usually I find it helpful to stack multiple images, or overlay the moon on the landscape scene to more closely match what the eye sees. If your goal is to create a collage showing the different phases of the eclipse, then you want totality to happen in the middle of the night so you can see the whole event. Below are some suggested exposure settings for the different eclipse phases, but they can vary, and bracketing is always helpful.
- No eclipse: ISO 100, f/8, 1/2000 sec.
- Penumbral: ISO 200, f/8, 1/500 sec.
- 50% Partial: ISO 400, f/8, 1/250 sec.
- Totality: ISO 1600, f/5, 1 second
The bad thing about totality happening during the middle of the night is the moon will be high in the sky. That makes it more difficult to capture with a landscape. A wide angle lens is required, and the moon will look quite small. But when totality happens near dawn or dusk, the moon will be near the horizon. You’ll be able to fit both it and a foreground element in the same frame with a telephoto lens. Use a tool such as Photopills or The Photographer’s Ephemeris to help plan your shot. The ambient light will also help to balance out the exposure so you won’t have to stack multiple images.
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