On 7 September 2025, UK observers will be able to see a lunar eclipse rising above the horizon.
If you saw the total lunar eclipse back in March 2025, you'll remember that totality – when the entire disc of the Moon is covered in Earth's shadow – occurred just a few minutes before the Moon set.
We in the UK got to see the initial partial phase of the lunar eclipse, a hint of totality… and then the Moon was gone.
Well, the good news is that on 7 September 2025 there’s another total lunar eclipse and it’s something of a mirror of the March event.
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Why lunar eclipses happen
A lunar eclipse takes place when the Sun, Earth and the Moon align in a straight line, with sunlight casting a reddish-brown hue on the Moon, hence the nickname 'Blood Moon'.
The dimming and change in colour of the Moon happen because Earth blocks direct sunlight from reaching the Moon.
Only light that has been refracted, or bent, through Earth’s atmosphere manages to illuminate the Moon.
This atmospheric bending of sunlight is what gives the Moon its red appearance during the eclipse, leading to the term 'Blood Moon'.
How it will appear from the UK
Whereas in March 2025, totality was reached just as the Moon set, the total lunar eclipse due on 7 September 2025 will see the Moon rise already in totality.
It appears on the eastern horizon at about 19:45 BST (18:45 UT), around the time the Sun is setting.
This causes all sorts of viewing issues, because a totally eclipsed Moon is darker than a normal, uneclipsed Moon.
How dark is unknown at this point, but it’s likely to be dark enough to make it tricky to see, low down in the evening twilight through a murky layer of atmosphere.
Totality ends just as the Moon clears the horizon, so the experience for this eclipse, clouds willing, will be similar to what you saw in March, but in reverse.
Earth’s dark umbral shadow clears the Moon’s disc shortly after moonrise, and the first impression that’s likely to be evident will be an oddly shaped Moon, almost as if someone has taken a slice of regular Moon and placed it in the sky.
If totality is very dark, this can fool you at first.
You might spot the part of the Moon that’s coming out of totality, but – being both small and an unfamiliar shape – you might dismiss it.
It’s quite possible that it’ll only be obvious as a part of the Moon when it rises higher in the sky, so be prepared for this, as failing to identify the Moon early could lead to missing an important part of the eclipse.
See the Belt of Venus
The Moon will be rising in the Belt of Venus, a name given to the pink-topped grey band that sits just above the opposite horizon to where the Sun sets.
As the evening progresses, the pink colour will reduce and the grey band will deepen. This is Earth’s shadow rising as the Sun sets in the opposite direction.
As the evening darkens, the portion of the Moon that’s not covered by the umbral shadow will increase, this being the final partial phase of the eclipse.
If you see or photograph the lunar eclipse on 7 September 2025, get in touch via contactus@skatnightmagazine.com
