“Blood Moon” Total Lunar Eclipse to Grace Skies September 7-8, Lasting 82 Minutes
BEIJING – Skywatchers are poised to witness a striking astronomical event as a total lunar eclipse, often called a “Blood Moon” due to the reddish hue it takes on, will occur from September 7th to 8th, 2025. During the eclipse, Earth will pass between the Sun adn Moon, casting a shadow that will fully immerse the lunar surface for approximately 82 minutes.
The eclipse is visible to the naked eye, though binoculars or a small astronomical telescope will enhance the viewing experience, revealing subtle color variations on the moon’s surface. Observers are advised to seek out dark locations away from urban light pollution, with an unobstructed view towards the southwest.
Notably, the Moon will be near its closest point to Earth during its orbit, making it appear slightly larger than usual. This occurs before the peak of the eclipse on October 21st.
during the september 7-8 eclipse, Saturn will appear as a bright yellow “star” near the Moon. Saturn will be at its closest approach to the Moon at 01:10 on September 9th,at an angular distance of approximately 3°30′.
The event has garnered attention online, with some netizens dubbing it “buff full” due to its coinciding with the Zhongyuan Festival, the Year of the Double Snake, and Leap June.
Historical records from NASA show occurrences of “four consecutive blood moons” – a series of total lunar eclipses occurring roughly every six months over a two-year period. Past instances, such as the series between 1967 and 1968, coincided with significant global events like the Six-Day War between Israel and arab States. Similarly, a blood moon appeared on April 15, 2014, the day before the sinking of the “Second” ferry in South Korea, resulting in 304 fatalities.
However, scientists emphasize thes are coincidences. “The blood moon is just a natural phenomenon caused by the earth’s atmosphere filtering sunlight,causing the light sprinkled on the moon to appear as copper red,” explains Gao Heng,senior engineer at the Yunnan Observatory of the Chinese Academy of Sciences.”The moon (what we see) is illuminated by the red halo around the earth, so we see a red moon.”
