Set your alarm, pray for clear skies and prepare to be awestruck in the early hours of Monday morning, when Australia becomes the prime location to witness a rare total lunar eclipse.
A blood moon, as it is called, occurs when the Earth passes directly between the sun and the moon, casting its shadow across the lunar surface. The moon takes on a deep red hue, giving it a surreal, even eerie, appearance.
What time is the blood moon in Australia?
About 2.27am AEST on Monday, the moon will begin to enter Earth’s shadow. By 3.30am it will be fully immersed in the darkest part, glowing a deep, burnished red. This phase, known as totality, will last until 4.42am, offering more than 70 minutes of surreal lunar beauty. The eclipse will conclude at 5.56am.
Where can you see the blood moon?
West Australians should be able to enjoy particularly striking views, according to Laura Driessen, an astronomer at the University of Sydney, with the moon high overhead. In the eastern states the moon will be low on the western horizon, which may create the illusion that it’s larger than usual. For viewers in Perth, the eclipse begins at 12.27am local time and will wrap up by 2.57am.
“We get lunar eclipses once every couple of years, but they don’t always line up for Australia,” Driessen says.
“This one is really special because the whole country gets to see the best parts – when the moon enters the darkest part of Earth’s shadow and turns red.
“You don’t need any special equipment to see it, and you don’t even need to be in a particularly dark place. As long as the skies are clear, you’ll be able to see it anywhere in Australia.”
Dr Tanya Hill, senior curator of astronomy at Museums Victoria, describes how the shadow slowly creeps across the moon until it’s fully engulfed in crimson light.
“From Earth we’ll see the shadow slowly move across the face of the moon, until the moon is fully engulfed and turns a deep red.”
This eclipse is particularly favourable for Australia because the country sits perfectly on the night side of Earth during the alignment. Although another is expected next year, Driessen believes Australians won’t see another one quite as spectacular as the one predicted on Monday until 2028.
This one, she says, is definitely worth waking up for.
Other regions well positioned to view the eclipse include China, India, the Philippines and parts of Africa. But most of North and South America will miss out entirely, as they will be on the sunlit side of the planet during the event.
Throughout history, blood moons have stirred awe and superstition. Ancient cultures from Norse to South American, Native American to Chinese, interpreted the red moon as a sign of divine anger or supernatural conflict. Some ancient cultures believed the moon was under attack by malevolent forces. Even biblical texts warned that “the sun will be turned into darkness and the moon into blood before the day of the Lord comes, that great and terrible day”.
Science may have demystified the phenomenon, but the visual spectacle promises to be just as powerful – and just a little bit poetic.
For more information on the science behind the blood moon, go to https://www.timeanddate.com/eclipse/lunar/2025-september-7