It sounds like the plot of a cheesy action film – a red, blood-coloured moon rises as an emergency alert pings on millions of phones.
But there’s no need to panic. Today – the same day that the government is conducting a nationwide test of its warning system – people in the UK will be able to see a Blood Moon.
Thankfully, it won’t be warning us about vampires – a Blood Moon is when the full moon turns a coppery reddish colour, due to a total lunar eclipse.
This is a fairly uncommon occurrence, and hasn’t happened in the UK in over three years.
And if you miss it tonight, you won’t get another chance until December 31, 2028 – and then its colour might be blocked by NYE fireworks.
What is a Blood Moon?
A Blood Moon, also called a lunar eclipse, is caused by an alignment of the sun, Earth and moon.
As they do laps around one another, sometimes the Earth’s shadow will spill over the moon, blocking some or all of its glowing surface.
A total lunar eclipse happens when the darkest part of Earth’s shadow, the umbra, swallows up the moon.
During this, sunlight passes through the Earth’s atmosphere, which filters and bends the light, Mark Norris, a senior lecturer in the School of Engineering and Computing at the University of Lancashire, tells Metro.
‘While the Earth blocks most sunlight from reaching the moon, some light still sneaks through our atmosphere,’ he says.
‘On its journey, the atmosphere scatters away blue and green light – the same reason our skies look blue – leaving only the deep reds.
‘This red light paints the moon’s surface, and as it reflects through Earth’s atmosphere to our eyes, the effect is even stronger, making the moon look dramatically crimson.’
What time is the Blood Moon lunar eclipse?
This year’s Blood Moon will be at a very civilised time in the evening, without having to set an alarm for the early hours.
It will be visible as soon as the moon rises, with the maximum from the UK occurring at 7.33pm on Sunday, September 7, 2025.
The lunar eclipse’s maximum is at 7.11pm, according to the Royal Museum Greenwich.
But at this point, the moon will still be below the horizon, so we won’t be able to see it yet, explains Mat Irvine, the vice-chair of theLondon stargazing club, the Astronomical Society of Haringey, to Metro.
‘It’s not unique to the UK – anywhere on the Earth that has a view of the moon at that time,’ he says. ‘It’s going to be the best in Asia, as they get the “full eclipse”.’
It will gradually move out of Earth’s umbra and penumbra (the edge of the shadow, where only part of the sun is visible) until 9.55pm.
How to see the lunar eclipse
Normally, it’s not that hard: just look up and find that big, round object in the sky.
But even if the weather is crystal clear, the moon will be low on the horizon this Sunday, so it might be tricky to see.
Can you look at a lunar eclipse?
You can. It’s no different in safety terms from looking at the Moon on any other night, only it will be a bit dimmer.
While you need special glasses to watch a solar eclipse, this weekend you can even take your binoculars.
‘It will already be eclipsed as it rises in the UK, which, depending on the atmospheric conditions, could make it difficult to spot,’ says Irvine.
The club’s editor and webmaster says that the nickname, Blood Moon, is a bit of false advertising, given that it might not actually be blood red.
‘But assuming it can be spotted – look East or South-East. They are fun to view – especially if it does take on the blood-red colour.’
When is the next full moon?
Many cultures, like Native American tribes, the Celts and the Anglo-Saxons, gave full moons names to help them track the seasons.
This weekend’s full moon – the first of autumn – was named the Harvest Moon by Native Americans as it was prime corn-picking time, according to the Old Farmer’s Almanac.
Here are all the full moon dates, times and names in the UK this year, 2025:
- January 13 – Wolf Moon
- February 12 – Snow Moon
- March 14 – Worm Moon
- April 13 – Pink Moon
- May 12 – Flower Moon
- June 11 – Strawberry Moon
- July 10 – Buck Moon
- August 9 – Sturgeon Moon
- September 7 – Corn/Harvest Moon (also a Blood Moon)
- October 7 – Hunter’s Moon
- November 5 – Beaver Moon
- December 4 – Cold Moon
If you can’t catch this Sunday’s lunar eclipse, don’t worry too much. There will be a partial lunar eclipse and Blood Moon, like the one in March this year, visible from the UK on August 28, 2026.
But the next full lunar eclipse will not be until December 31, 2028.
Meanwhile, the next solar eclipse will be in 2027, but you’d have to leave the UK to see it, with Spain the shortest journey you’d need.
For Kyri Voskou, a member of the Haringey club, a solar eclipse is the one he’s willing to book plane tickets for – or at least pop outside to see it from his garden.
‘It’s unlikely I’ll even watch this Lunar one from home!’ he says.
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