S'pore to experience 'Blood Moon' total lunar eclipse on Sep. 7

On Sep. 7, Singaporeans can experience a rare lunar  “blood moon”, caused by a total lunar eclipse.

Blood moon

According to Space.com, Singapore is expected to experience a blood moon on Sep. 7, along with the rest of East Asia and Western Australia.

The Straits Times, speaking to the Science Centre Observatory (SCOB), reports that the lunar phenomenon will take place between 11:28pm and 4:55am, and will reach its maximum at around 2:11am.

A blood moon is so called because of the reddish tone that the Moon takes on during a total lunar eclipse.

It occurs when the Earth moves between the Sun and the Moon, causing the Moon to be illuminated only by sunlight that has passed through the Earth’s atmosphere.

The Earth’s atmosphere filters or scatters the blue wavelengths of light, only allowing the red and orange wavelengths to reach the Moon, thus allowing for the blood moon to occur.

Space.com reports that the 2025 lunar eclipse will occur nearly three days before the Moon is at its closest point, so it will appear slightly larger than usual.

But it also expects the 2025 eclipses to be more deeply shaded, with 36 per cent of the Moon passing through the darkest part of Earth’s shadow.

During the phenomena's last occurrence in Singapore in 2022, the SCOB said that viewing it would be “challenging” due to the full eclipse occurring at 6:16pm, before the Moon was at an "appreciable altitude”.

Viewers then were likely only to be able to catch the tail end of the eclipse.

Hopefully, with the entire eclipse occurring in the middle of the night, moon watchers will have a better experience.

Top image via Daphne Fecheyr/Unsplash