September’s full moon is this weekend — and it will be a total lunar eclipse, also known as a “blood moon.” Lunar eclipses typically occur twice a year thanks to the moon’s tilted orbit.
Here’s how the celestial phenomenon works and when it will happen.
Blood moons, which often refer to total lunar eclipses, happen when the full moon comes into complete alignment with the Earth and sun. This casts the moon in Earth’s shadow (called the umbra), where it dims and appears reddish-orange due to the blocked sunlight (except for the light from the edges of Earth). The rusty red color is where the nickname “Blood Moon” comes from.
The second and final blood moon of the year will occur on Sept. 7-8. The first was March 13-14.
The eclipse will have an overall duration of three hours and 29 minutes, with the total phase lasting around one hour and 22 minutes.
Here’s the timeline for September’s lunar eclipse, per NASA. All times are in Central Daylight Time (CDT) on Sunday, Sept. 7.
Unfortunately, the last lunar eclipse of 2025 won’t be visible from the Americas. The best views of the phases will be in Asia and Western Australia, Space.com reports. Europe, Africa, eastern Australia and New Zealand will have partial visibility.
— USA TODAY contributed to this report.