March 2025 lunar eclipse

A total lunar eclipse occurred at the Moon's descending node of orbit on Friday, March 14, 2025, with an umbral magnitude of 1.1804. A lunar eclipse occurs when the Moon moves into the Earth's shadow, causing the Moon to be darkened. A total lunar eclipse occurs when the Moon's near side entirely passes into the Earth's umbral shadow. Unlike a total solar eclipse, which can only be viewed from a relatively small area of the world, a lunar eclipse may be viewed from anywhere on the night side of Earth. A total lunar eclipse can last up to nearly two hours, while a total solar eclipse lasts only a few minutes at any given place, because the Moon's shadow is smaller. Occurring about 3.4 days before apogee (March 17, 2025, at 16:37 UTC), the Moon's apparent diameter was smaller than average. This lunar eclipse was the first of an almost tetrad, with the others being on September 8, 2025 (total); March 3, 2026 (total); and August 28, 2026 (partial). This eclipse was seen from the surface of the Moon by Firefly Aerospace's Blue Ghost Mission 1 lander, which captured images of the ring of light around the Earth as the Sun passed behind it and the red glow on the Moon's surface.