Stargazers who looked up at the sky last night and early this morning might have spotted the March 2025 “Blood Moon,” a total lunar eclipse that colored the moon in shades of red, orange and yellow.
March’s full moon is called the “Worm Moon,” according to the Farmer’s Almanac, which has documented the history of how full moons are named. Moons that take on these reddish hues during a total lunar eclipse are called “Blood Moons.” The combined nicknames have resulted in some calling it the “Blood Worm Moon.”
The moon rose in its totality early Friday, and is expected to be visible through Saturday morning, according to NASA. Pictures captured during the event on Friday show the strangely colored lunar body large in the sky as it passed through the Earth’s shadow.
Pictures of last night’s total lunar eclipse
During a total lunar eclipse, the Earth passes directly between the moon and the sun. The alignment blocks most sunlight from reaching the moon for a brief period, though the moon remains visible during this time.
Photos show much of the moon covered by the Earth’s shadow.
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Pictures of last night’s “Blood Worm Moon”
In some images from early Friday morning, the moon appears red.
The reddish hues appear because some light still reaches the moon when it’s fully in Earth’s shadow, but those wavelengths are red, orange and yellow, NASA said. They reflect on the moon’s surface and create the colorful phenomenon.
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When will the next total lunar eclipse take place?
The next total lunar eclipse will take place on Sept. 7 and 8, according to timeanddate.com. The totality of that eclipse won’t be visible in the Americas, though. Another total lunar eclipse will occur in early March 2026, and is expected to be visible in the United States.