March 2025 lunar eclipse

Last updated

March 2025 lunar eclipse
Total eclipse
March 2025 Total Lunar Eclipse.jpg
View from Olympia, Washington, 7:09 UTC
DateMarch 14, 2025
Gamma 0.3485
Magnitude 1.1804
Saros cycle 123 (53 of 72)
Totality66 minutes, 3.9 seconds
Partiality218 minutes, 55.8 seconds
Penumbral363 minutes, 22.4 seconds
Contacts (UTC)
P13:57:09.4
U15:09:22.6
U26:25:57.5
Greatest6:58:44.5
U37:32:01.5
U48:48:18.5
P410:00:31.9

A total lunar eclipse occurred at the Moon's descending node of orbit on Friday, March 14, 2025, [1] with an umbral magnitude of 1.1804. A lunar eclipse occurs when the Moon moves into the Earth's shadow, causing the Moon to be darkened. A total lunar eclipse occurs when the Moon's near side entirely passes into the Earth's umbral shadow. Unlike a total solar eclipse, which can only be viewed from a relatively small area of the world, a lunar eclipse may be viewed from anywhere on the night side of Earth. A total lunar eclipse can last up to nearly two hours, while a total solar eclipse lasts only a few minutes at any given place, because the Moon's shadow is smaller. Occurring about 3.3 days before apogee (on March 17, 2025, at 12:35 UTC), the Moon's apparent diameter was smaller. [2]

Contents

This lunar eclipse was the first of an almost tetrad, with the others being on September 8, 2025 (total); March 3, 2026 (total); and August 28, 2026 (partial).

This eclipse was seen from the surface of the Moon by Firefly Aerospace's Blue Ghost Mission 1 lander, which captured images of the ring of light around the Earth as the Sun passed behind it and the red glow on the Moon's surface. [3] [4]

Visibility

The eclipse was completely visible over North America and South America, seen rising over Australia and northeast Asia and setting over Africa and Europe. [5]

Lunar eclipse from moon-2025Mar14.png
Simulated view of earth from moon
Lunar-eclipse-from-moon-earth-3-14-2025.png
From moon, with IR clouds [6]
Lunar eclipse chart close-2025Mar14.png
Visibility Lunar Eclipse 2025-03-14.png
Visibility map

Eclipse details

Shown below is a table displaying details about this particular lunar eclipse. It describes various parameters pertaining to this eclipse. [7]

March 14, 2025 Lunar Eclipse Parameters
ParameterValue
Penumbral Magnitude2.26146
Umbral Magnitude1.18038
Gamma0.34846
Sun Right Ascension23h37m46.0s
Sun Declination-02°24'16.8"
Sun Semi-Diameter16'05.2"
Sun Equatorial Horizontal Parallax08.8"
Moon Right Ascension11h38m23.0s
Moon Declination+02°40'54.6"
Moon Semi-Diameter14'52.8"
Moon Equatorial Horizontal Parallax0°54'36.8"
ΔT71.7 s

Eclipse season

This eclipse is part of an eclipse season, a period, roughly every six months, when eclipses occur. Each season lasts about 35 days and repeats just short of six months (173 days) later; thus two full eclipse seasons always occur each calendar year and part of a third may occur. Either two or three eclipses happen each eclipse season. In the sequence below, each eclipse is separated by a fortnight.

Eclipse season of March 2025
March 14
Descending node (full moon)
March 29
Ascending node (new moon)
Lunar eclipse chart close-2025Mar14.png SE2025Mar29P.png
Total lunar eclipse
Lunar Saros 123
Partial solar eclipse
Solar Saros 149

See also

References

  1. ↑ "March 13–14, 2025 Total Lunar Eclipse (Blood Moon)". timeanddate. Archived from the original on 22 January 2025. Retrieved 18 November 2024.
  2. ↑ "Moon Distances for London, United Kingdom, England". timeanddate. Retrieved 18 November 2024.
  3. ↑ "Blue Ghost Mission 1: Live Updates". 18 March 2025.
  4. ↑ "Firefly's Dazzling Images of Earth Eclipsing the Sun".
  5. ↑ "Total Lunar Eclipse of 2025 Mar 14" (PDF). NASA. Archived (PDF) from the original on 4 December 2024. Retrieved 18 November 2024.
  6. ↑ "Satellite picture" (GIF).
  7. ↑ "Total Lunar Eclipse of 2025 Mar 14". EclipseWise.com. Retrieved 18 November 2024.