Total lunar eclipse — Asia (2025)
A total lunar eclipse on 7 September 2025 (UT), seen across Asia, Africa, Europe and Australia. The Moon glowed red for 82 minutes.
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The story
On 7 September 2025 (UT) the Moon slid completely into the dark inner shadow of Earth. Totality, when the whole Moon sits inside that shadow, lasted 82 minutes, from 17:30 to 18:52 UT, and the deepest moment came at 18:12. Totality longer than 80 minutes is not common, so this was one of the longer lunar eclipses of recent years.
The whole eclipse could be seen from East Africa, Asia and western and central Australia. The partial phase, when the Moon is only partly covered, began at 16:27 UT on 7 September. Totality ran from 17:30 to 18:52 UT, and the partial phase ended at 19:56 UT. It was the second total lunar eclipse of 2025, after the one of 14 March that favoured the Americas.
The Moon does not vanish during a lunar eclipse. It turns red because of Earth's air. Sunlight passing through the thin ring of atmosphere around Earth is bent slightly into the shadow. On the way, blue light is scattered out and mostly red light is left. So the Moon is lit by the glow of every sunrise and sunset on Earth at once. This time the Moon passed close to the centre of the shadow, which made the colour especially dark and deep.
Unlike a solar eclipse, a lunar eclipse can be seen at the same moment from anywhere the Moon is above the horizon, and it is safe to watch with the naked eye. The sky replay recreates the Moon sinking into Earth's shadow over Delhi, India; switching the location to Sydney shows the red Moon low in the western sky before dawn. The next total lunar eclipse came on 3 March 2026, and the one after that is on 31 December 2028.
Viewing guide — timing and direction
Totality lasted from 17:30 to 18:52 UT. In Tokyo that meant 02:30 to 03:52 on 8 September; in Delhi, 23:00 to 00:22; and in Sydney, 03:30 to 04:52 in the early morning. London and Paris saw only the end of totality as the Moon rose, and the Americas missed it because the Moon was below their horizon.
A lunar eclipse is safe to watch with the naked eye, and binoculars show the colour changing near the edge of the shadow. The Moon becomes very dim during totality, so photographs need exposures of about one to four seconds; a tripod and a long lens can also capture the markings on its surface. City lights hardly matter, so a window with a view of the Moon was enough.
The sky replay follows the Moon over Delhi and slows down as it sinks into the shadow. Set the location to Tokyo and it recreates the height and timing of the Moon in the pre-dawn south-western sky; set it to Sydney and the red Moon appears sinking toward the western horizon before dawn. Comparing places side by side shows how the same eclipse sits at a different height and direction depending on where you live.
See this for yourself — open that sky at that moment · replay the moment in the orbit view
Why this lunar eclipse is worth it
A total lunar eclipse is also a way to look at all of Earth's air at once. Every bit of red light that reaches the Moon has passed through our atmosphere, so the colour and brightness of the Moon depend on how much volcanic ash, dust and cloud is floating in the air at the time. After a large volcanic eruption, the air is hazier and eclipses look unusually dark. The deep copper colour of September 2025 is explained mainly by the Moon passing close to the centre of the shadow, not by dirty air.
An eclipse is also a chance to study the lunar surface. When sunlight is suddenly cut off, the ground on the Moon cools quickly. Fine dust loses its heat fast, while large rocks hold heat longer and cool slowly. Spacecraft orbiting the Moon carry instruments that measure heat, and by watching the surface during an eclipse they can tell which areas are covered in rock and which are covered in dust.
Background
Lunar eclipses repeat in a similar pattern about every 18 years, a cycle known as the saros. This eclipse belongs to Saros 128. The previous eclipse in the same series, on 28 August 2007, was seen over the Pacific and the Americas, and the next will come on 19 September 2043. In 2025 there was also a total lunar eclipse over the Americas on 14 March, so the year had two.
Whether a given place sees a whole total lunar eclipse varies irregularly from year to year. After 8 November 2022, 14 March 2025, 7–8 September 2025 and 3 March 2026, the next total lunar eclipses are on 31 December 2028, 26 June and 20 December 2029, and 25 April 2032. A lunar eclipse is visible only from the night side of Earth, so the whole event has to fall within a place's night hours to be seen from start to finish.
Two weeks after this eclipse, on 21 September, a partial solar eclipse was visible from the South Pacific, New Zealand and Antarctica. A lunar eclipse happens at full moon and a solar eclipse at new moon, and the two are about two weeks apart. Both become possible during the same season, when the Moon's path crosses the Sun's, which is why lunar and solar eclipses often come in pairs a fortnight apart.
FAQ
What time did it happen?
Totality lasted from 17:30 to 18:52 UT on 7 September, and the partial phases from 16:27 to 19:56 UT. The whole eclipse could be seen from East Africa, Asia and western and central Australia; Europe and most of Africa saw it as the Moon rose.
Why does the Moon turn red?
Sunlight bent through Earth's atmosphere reaches into the shadow, and mostly the red part gets through to light the Moon. It is like the glow of every sunset on Earth at once.
Is it safe to watch with the naked eye?
Yes. A lunar eclipse is safe at every stage for the naked eye, binoculars and telescopes. Unlike a solar eclipse, no protective glasses are needed.
When is the next total lunar eclipse?
There was one on the evening of 3 March 2026; the next is on the night of 31 December 2028.
Related
- The 2028 New Year blood moon
- The 2026 total lunar eclipse over the Pacific
- The 2032 total lunar eclipse over East Asia and Australia
- The Moon — object index
- Earth — object index
Times and figures are approximate — verify with official sources when planning travel. Simulation uses J2000 mean elements.