There's a total lunar eclipse visible on September 7, 2025, and if you're based in India, China, Russia, western Australia, east Africa and the regions surrounding central Asia, you'll get to see the whole thing.
This lunar eclipse isn't visible in North America, although the very western part of Alaska may be able to see a partial lunar eclipse.
For those of us in the UK and western Europe, we may be able to catch a bit of totality as the Moon rises.
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Lunar eclipses explained
A lunar eclipse occurs when the Sun, Earth and the Moon are aligned in a straight line, in that order.
Light from the Sun illuminates the full disc of the Moon, but because Earth is in the way, that sunlight has to pass through Earth's atmosphere before hitting the Moon.
As it passes through our atmosphere, sunlight is scattered, meaning shorter wavelengths (blue) are dispersed to a greater extent than longer wavelengths (red).
Red light, being less scattered, is bent – or refracted – towards the Moon, giving the light a reddish colour.
Sometimes, for this reason, you'll hear a total lunar eclipse being called a 'blood Moon'.
Corn Moon eclipse
You'll probably hear that this total lunar eclipse occurs during the Corn Moon.
'Corn Moon' is one of many nicknames given to each of the monthly full Moons of the year.
These nicknames reflect changes or significant moments in nature that occur during the month in question.
So, for example, the 'Snow Moon' is the February full Moon. The June full Moon is the 'Strawberry Moon', because June is the month when strawberries are ripe for picking.
This total lunar eclipse rises on September 7, 2025, meaning it's the Corn Moon. But every September full Moon is known as the 'Corn Moon', not just this one.
It's because this September 2025 full Moon is also a total lunar eclipse, that you'll hear some refer to it as a 'Corn Moon eclipse'.
The term 'Corn Moon' doesn't indicate that the September full Moon will appear differently to any other full Moon of the year.
However, this September 2025 full Moon will appear different, because it's undergoing a total lunar eclipse.
Unlike a solar eclipse, a lunar eclipse is perfectly safe to observe with the naked eye.
Timings for the September 7, 2025 lunar eclipse
The best places to see all of the September 7, 2025 total lunar eclipse will be in Asia, western Australia and the very eastern parts of Africa.
You can also see the total lunar eclipse in Antarctica, the western Pacific Ocean and the Indian Ocean.
If you want to observe the eclipse from the UK or Ireland, read our UK guide to the September 7, 2025 lunar eclipse.
Here are the timings for the eclipse, in UTC, which is Coordinated Universal Time.
- 3:28 PM UTC – Penumbral eclipse begins
- 4:27 PM UTC – Partial eclipse begins
- 5:30 PM UTC – Total eclipse begins
- 6:11 PM UTC – Maximum eclipse
- 6:52 PM UTC – Total eclipse ends
- 7:56 PM UTC – Partial eclipse ends
- 8:55 PM UTC – Penumbral eclipse ends
Watch the lunar eclipse online
If you're clouded out, or not in a part of the world where you'll be able to see the total phase of the September 2025 lunar eclipse, you can watch a livestream of the event online, courtesy of Time and Date.
If you manage to see or photograph the September 7, 2025 total lunar eclipse, get in touch by emailing contactus@skyatnightmagazine.com
