On some special nights, the bright full Moon suddenly begins to darken. Slowly, as if Earth is pulling a curtain across it, the Moon slips into shadow and sometimes glows a deep coppery red. This beautiful cosmic event is called a lunar eclipse.
It happens when the Earth comes exactly between the Sun and the Moon, blocking sunlight from reaching the Moon. Instead of disappearing, the Moon shines in shades of red because Earth’s atmosphere bends sunlight—scattering blue light away and letting only the red pass through. That’s why people call it the “Blood Moon.”
Unlike a solar eclipse, a lunar eclipse is safe to watch with the naked eye and can last for hours. There are three types—total, when the Moon is completely shadowed and turns red; partial, when only part of it is hidden; and penumbral, a faint, almost unnoticeable dimming.
Throughout history, eclipses were surrounded by myths—some saw them as bad omens, while others viewed them as messages from the gods. Today, we know they’re simply nature’s grand show, a reminder of how perfectly the Sun, Earth, and Moon align.
The last total lunar eclipse happened on March 14, 2025, lasting about 66 minutes. The next one is coming soon—on the night of September 7–8, 2025. This eclipse will treat the world to an 82-minute-long red Moon, visible across Asia, Africa, Australia, Europe, and parts of the Americas. After that, the next will arrive on March 3, 2026.
Here are some fascinating facts to make the next eclipse even more exciting:
- A lunar eclipse can only happen on a full moon night, never on any other phase.
- From start to finish, it can last up to 6 hours, depending on how the Moon moves through Earth’s shadow.
- At least two lunar eclipses occur every year, though not all are visible from every location.
- If you were standing on the Moon during an eclipse, you’d see a dark Earth blocking the Sun—surrounded by a glowing red ring (all the sunsets and sunrises of Earth happening at once).
- The longest lunar eclipse of this century was on July 27, 2018, with nearly 1 hour 43 minutes of totality.
So, if you spot the Moon turning red this September, pause and look up—you’ll be witnessing Earth’s magnificent shadow painting the Moon in firelight.
