On the evening of March 13 and into the morning of March 14, the moon will slide into Earth’s shadow, creating a wondrous and graceful event: a total lunar eclipse, revealing a “blood moon.”
This will be the only total lunar eclipse of 2025 and the first one in nearly three years. The next total lunar eclipse visible from the US won’t be until March 3, 2026. The good news is that as long as you time it right and there are clear skies overhead, it’s relatively easy to see. You don’t need a telescope or binoculars to see a lunar eclipse—just your eyes (and depending on your time zone, the ability to stay awake). Though, if you do have astronomical equipment on hand, it certainly helps to get a close-up view of what’s transpiring.
Here’s everything you need to know in order to best enjoy tonight’s total lunar eclipse, including why it’s also called a “blood moon,” and a break down of what happens during each phase.
Where to see the total lunar eclipse
In its completion, a total lunar eclipse is over three hours long. The whole show will be visible across almost the entirety of North America, Central America, and most of South America. From western Africa the moon will set while still eclipsed, and in extreme eastern Russia the moon will rise already in eclipse. Even if you live in a city you should still be able to catch a glimpse, though when fully eclipsed the dark moon might be hard to spot if there is too much light pollution.
In the United States, the time the lunar eclipse will reach peak totality (the most exciting phase to see) will depend on your time zone, outlined below:
- Pacific Time Zone: 11:26 p.m. PDT on Thursday, March 13
- Mountain Time Zone: 12:26 a.m. MDT on Friday, March 14
- Central Time Zone: 1:26 a.m. CDT on Friday, March 14
- Eastern Time Zone: 2:26 a.m. EDT on Friday, March 14
What happens during a lunar eclipse?
In order to best appreciate the cosmic show, it’s helpful to understand the fascinating science behind a lunar eclipse (including why the moon appears red, a phenomenon also known as a “blood moon”).
It’s a bit odd to think of Earth having a shadow, since there’s nothing in space for it to be cast upon. However, a shadow is just where an object is blocking a source of light, so if you’re in a spot in space exactly behind Earth with respect to the Sun, the solid body of our planet obstructs our star. You’d be in shadow.
A total lunar eclipse is a relatively rare astronomical event because the moon usually passes above or below Earth’s shadow in the sky due to the tilt of its orbit. But once or twice a year the heavens literally align and the moon moves directly into that region of space.
The Earth is round, so we see it casting a circular shadow on the moon. As the moon orbits Earth, one edge of the moon’s disk appears to darken when it enters Earth’s shadow—we call this the beginning of the partial eclipse—and over a few minutes that spot grows into an arc, a dark circular segment that moves over the lunar landscape. It continues to swallow the moon, which eventually becomes a crescent shape, until, finally, the entirety of the moon is in Earth’s shadow, which we call totality.
What causes a blood moon?
Totality can last for well over an hour, depending on how deeply the moon penetrates into Earth’s shadow. This is the phase of the lunar eclipse you don’t want to miss—at this time, an amazing thing happens: the normally somewhat colorless moon doesn’t appear completely dark, but instead orange or even blood red. That’s why lunar eclipses are sometimes called “blood moons.”
