Pictured: Lunar eclipse 2025 from around the world

Stargazers across the world marvelled at a dramatic red “blood moon” during a rare lunar eclipse this week.

The spectacle was visible in the Americas and Pacific and Atlantic oceans, as well as in the westernmost parts of Europe and Africa.

The phenomenon happens when the Sun, Earth and Moon line up, causing our planet to cast a giant shadow across its satellite.

But as the Earth’s shadow crept across the Moon, it did not entirely blot out its white glow — instead the Moon glowed a reddish colour.

This is because the only sunlight that reaches the Moon is “bent and scattered” as it goes through Earth’s atmosphere, said Daniel Brown, an astronomer at Britain’s Nottingham Trent University.

It is similar to how the light can become pink or red during sunrises or sunsets on Earth, he added.

The more clouds and dust there are in Earth’s atmosphere, the redder the Moon appears.

Mr Brown called the lunar eclipse, which goes for around six hours, “an amazing way to see the solar system in action”.

The period when the Moon is completely in Earth’s shadow — called the totality — lasts just over an hour.

Lunar and solar eclipses happen anywhere from four to seven times a year, according to NASA.

A partial lunar eclipse graced skies in the Americas, Africa and Europe last September and the last total lunar eclipse was in 2022.

If you’re up in the early hours of Monday, September 8, you’ll witness a total lunar eclipse, or “blood moon,” visible across Australia.

Another total lunar eclipse will occur in the early evening of March 2026, followed by an early morning eclipse in December 2028.

Wires

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