Irish stargazers wake up to rare ‘blood moon’ partial lunar eclipse
- Early risers were able to witness a partial lunar eclipse – or “blood moon” – before dawn on Friday.
- A “blood moon” is created when the moon moves into Earth’s shadow, gradually darkening before turning red.
- In a partial lunar eclipse, the sun, Earth and moon are almost, rather than fully, aligned.
People view the full moon as a section moves into shadow during a lunar eclipse, before dawn, at Stonehenge stone circle, near Amesbury, southern Britain, March 14, 2025. REUTERS/Toby Melville
The moon is seen as a section moves into shadow during a lunar eclipse, photographed near Stonehenge stone circle, Amesbury, southern Britain, March 14, 2025. REUTERS/Toby Melville
A woman looks through a telescope at El Principito park to see a total lunar eclipse in San Salvador, El Salvador, March 13, 2025. REUTERS/Jose Cabezas
Early risers were able to witness a partial lunar eclipse – or “blood moon” – before dawn on Friday.
A “blood moon” is created when the moon moves into Earth’s shadow, gradually darkening before turning red.
In a partial lunar eclipse, the sun, Earth and moon are almost, rather than fully, aligned. This means a dark section appears on the moon.
People view the full moon as a section moves into shadow during a lunar eclipse, before dawn, at Stonehenge stone circle, near Amesbury, southern Britain, March 14, 2025. REUTERS/Toby Melville
For 77 minutes on Friday morning, the moon entered the Earth’s shadow completely, taking on a reddish hue.
The sky brightened towards 7am, as the moon began to set – making the eclipse harder to see.
A total lunar eclipse will not happen again for almost four years, with the next one expected on New Year’s Eve in 2028.
The moon is seen as a section moves into shadow during a lunar eclipse, photographed near Stonehenge stone circle, Amesbury, southern Britain, March 14, 2025. REUTERS/Toby Melville
The event is also known as a ‘Blood Moon’ due to the reddish hue cast by the Earth’s shadow, the light of “all the Earth’s sunrises and all of the Earth’s sunsets”.
“The light of all the sunrises and sunsets faintly light up the moon, which are usually reddish in colour. The light that ends up on the moon is very weak, but it’s also very red,” founder of Astronomy Ireland David Moore said.
A woman looks through a telescope at El Principito park to see a total lunar eclipse in San Salvador, El Salvador, March 13, 2025. REUTERS/Jose Cabezas
“In ancient times, people associated red with blood and bad things. There are a lot of bad omens about it, about eclipses. Why would the full moon turn red and dim down so much? (Historically) they didn’t know it was because the moon was entering the Earth’s shadow.”
Astronomy Ireland has urged early risers who happened to see the eclipse to share photos or accounts of their sightings with the organisation.