Stargazers to witness 82-minute Blood Moon on Sunday

Stargazers across Africa, Asia, Australia and Europe will have a chance to witness a spectacular celestial event this Sunday, September 7, 2025, a total lunar eclipse, commonly known as a Blood Moon.

Observers in Asia, including India and China, will have the best views of the eclipse, which will also be visible across the eastern edge of Africa and parts of western Australia.

This rare event will be visible to more than seven billion people worldwide, with approximately 6.2 billion able to witness the entire totality from beginning to end.

Regions in the Americas will largely miss out, as the eclipse will occur during daytime hours.

However, Hawaii, parts of Alaska, and some areas in Brazil may catch at least a partial eclipse.

The upcoming eclipse is notable for being the longest total lunar eclipse since 2022, featuring a totality lasting 1 hour and 22 minutes, during which the Moon will take on a deep, blood-red hue.

The last total lunar eclipse occurred on March 14, 2025, and prior to that in 2022.

The full event will span approximately five and a half hours, beginning at 6:28 pm EAT and ending at 11:55 pm EAT. The most dramatic phase, the totality, will start at 8:30pm EAT and conclude at 9:52pm EAT.

 A not-to-scale diagram of the anatomy of a lunar eclipse. (Science@NASA and NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center)

The dramatic red colouration of the Moon during a total lunar eclipse results from the unique alignment of the Earth, Moon and Sun.

NASA explains that a total lunar eclipse occurs when the Moon passes into the Earth’s umbra, the darkest part of its shadow.

As sunlight passes through Earth’s atmosphere, shorter wavelengths like blue and violet are scattered, while longer wavelengths, red and orange, are bent toward the Moon, creating the “Blood Moon” effect.

“Because these longer wavelengths make it through Earth’s atmosphere, and the shorter wavelengths have scattered away, the Moon appears orangish or reddish during a lunar eclipse,” NASA explains.

“The more dust or clouds in Earth’s atmosphere during the eclipse, the redder the Moon appears.”

The next total lunar eclipse will occur on March 3, 2026, and will be visible in East Asia, Australia, the Pacific and the Americas, according to NASA.