View a partial lunar eclipse: Friday 14 March

Sydneysiders will have an opportunity to see the Earth's shadow take a bite out of the Moon during the last phase of a total lunar eclipse on 14 March 2025. This is the first lunar eclipse visible from our city since 8 November 2022.

HOW TO VIEW THE LUNAR ECLIPSE

The Moon will rise partially eclipsed which should be an amazing sight for those with a view to the Eastern horizon. In Sydney the Moon will rise after totality has occurred. Ross Mitchell took the image above of a partially eclipses Moon in 2018.

TIMES - FRIDAY 14 MARCH 2025

Depending on your view to the horizon the following times are a good guide:*

7:14pm - start to see a partially eclipsed Moon rise from the eastern horizon (during daylight).

7:15pm - Sun sets

7:48pm - the Earth's shadow will leave the Moon.

*Times are from the 2025 Australasian Sky Guide by Dr Nick Lomb.

Not in Sydney? Find your local time here: https://www.timeanddate.com/eclipse/in/australia/sydney

SOME TIPS:

• Find a place with a view to the East - ideally you can see the horizon.

• You don't need special glasses - a Lunar or Moon eclipse is perfectly safe to view with the naked eye.

• Look for the colour of the eclipsed Moon - how red is it? Why does the Moon turn red?  

• A pair of binoculars is a great way to see the details of the Moon.

• Have your camera ready. Turn OFF the flash. Ideally set your camera on a tripod, zoom in if you have a Zoom lens and with manual settings adjust to get a close-up of the Moon and surrounding landscape. It will be twilight so this should be possible.

• Keep taking images as the Moon goes out of eclipse but remember to look and observe with the naked eye!

Did you know?

Lunar eclipses can only occur during a full moon. However, there isn’t a lunar eclipse every full moon of the month because the Moon’s orbit is tipped about five degrees to the Earth’s orbit around the Sun. The Moon is either below or above the plane of the Earth’s orbit most of the time.

Almost totally eclipsed Moon by T. Stevenson, 8 November 2022.

A lunar eclipse can be total, when the shadow of the Earth fully covers the Moon; partial, when the Earth’s shadow covers just a portion of the Moon; or penumbral, when the Earth’s lighter outer shadow (penumbra) covers the Moon.

The lunar eclipse of 16th July 2000 lasted for 106 minutes and 25 seconds, the longest duration since the 13th August 1859. Totality of this length will not happen again until the 19th August 4753. The Danjon Scale is used to grade the darkness of a total lunar eclipse. It is done in points from zero, where the Moon looks almost invisible, to four where a bright yellowish orange colour can be seen.

The photograph above is as the Moon becomes totally eclipsed the colour changes to a reddish hue. This is because the Sun is scattering light particles from the Earth's atmosphere and the red/orange hues reach the Moon but the bluish particles are dispersed. Just like a sunset.

Unlike a solar eclipse which can only be seen from specific locations around the world, a lunar eclipse can be viewed from on the night side of the Earth from most locations.

In ancient times lunar eclipses were regarded with fear and awe. The Incas believed lunar eclipses occurred when a jaguar ate the Moon. The Mesopotamians believed a lunar eclipse was when the Moon was being attacked by seven demons, and the Chinese would ring bells to prevent a dragon or other wild animal from biting the Moon.