Don’t Miss the Total Lunar Eclipse!

There will be a total lunar eclipse overnight Thursday–Friday, March 13–14, 2025. How long will this eclipse be? There will be approximately 65 minutes of totality. Who will see this eclipse? People in the Americas will be able to view the entire eclipse (it will be daylight on Friday for most of the rest of the world). This will make a great family activity, especially for homeschoolers. However, the eclipse may be a bit inconvenient (especially for young children), given that it doesn’t start until after midnight, at least in the eastern United States. On March 14, the first partial phase will begin at 1:09 a.m. EDT. Totality will be between 2:26 a.m. and 3:31 a.m. EDT. The second partial phase will end at 4:48 a.m. EDT. The eclipse will be preceded and followed by the penumbral phases of the eclipse, when the moon passes through earth’s outer shadow (penumbra), but to most people, the full moon will appear as bright as usual during the penumbral phases.

I plan to go to bed very early that evening and wake up well before midnight to be prepared, weather permitting. You see, in addition to leading a group in viewing the eclipse that night, I plan to take photographs with two telescopes. It will take some time to set up all the telescopes we’ll need. A telescope is not necessary, but it does enhance the view, even if you have a cheap telescope. And binoculars work well too. If you wish to take photographs, you will need a strong zoom lens on your camera, and you must have a sturdy tripod for your camera. Try various exposure times and ISO settings to bracket the photos. Keep in mind that mid-March is late winter, so it is likely to be cold that night, so dress warmly (of course, conditions will vary depending on location). However, it certainly won’t be as cold as when I saw the previous member of this saros series of lunar eclipses visible from the United States. You see, I’ve sort of seen this eclipse before.

How to Plan

What do I mean? About six months before the 2024 total solar eclipse, I blogged about the requirements for an eclipse and the fact that 18 years, 11 1/3 days after an eclipse occurs, nearly the same conditions repeat. We call this period the saros cycle. Since the saros cycle involves one-third of a day, each successive eclipse in a saros series is displaced about one-third the way around the earth (i.e., shifts about 120° in longitude due to the extra eight-hour displacement). Therefore, it takes three saros cycles (54 years, 34 days) for a similar eclipse to be seen in roughly the same part of the world. There are numerous saros series of related eclipses going on simultaneously, with one saros cycle between each member of each saros series. Currently, there are 40 active saros series of solar eclipses and 41 active saros series of lunar eclipses. For instance, the total solar eclipse on April 8, 2024, was number 30 of saros series 139. In a blog post six months after the 2024 total solar eclipse, I commented on the fact that on March 7, 1970, (three saros cycles earlier), I had watched a similar eclipse (number 27 of saros series 139), although the eclipse was not total where I was. In my blog post, I even shared some photographs of the partial solar eclipse I had taken 54 years before. It was nice to complete the cycle between my first and latest solar eclipse, with both being members of the same saros series.

The March 13–14 total lunar eclipse is number 53 of saros series 123 (there are 19 more lunar eclipses in this saros series until it ends late in the twenty-fourth century, with the final eclipse occurring in 2367). On February 10, 1971, I watched the even longer total lunar eclipse (82 minutes), number 50 of the same saros series 123. It’s hard to believe it’s been 54 years since then. At that time, in 1971, I lived in Fairborn, Ohio, and the temperature was below zero degrees Fahrenheit that night. I stayed up much of the night watching the eclipse with a friend, though we often came into the house to warm up. That was unusually cold even for February, but I doubt it is likely to be that cold a bit farther south of Fairborn in mid-March. I hope the sky is clear for this eclipse so that I can get closure on this saros series (I’m not likely to make the next one, number 56 in the saros series 123, occurring in 2079).1

For families, this may be a good opportunity to build memories and to teach your children about God and his amazing creation (Deuteronomy 6:7). When I watched that lunar eclipse in 1971 (my second lunar eclipse), I didn’t give any thought to the possibility of seeing a related eclipse 54 years later, but here I am. If you introduce your children to this lunar eclipse, they may be able to hand down the memory to their grandchildren (your great-grandchildren). It reminds me of Psalm 89:37:

Like the moon it shall be established forever, a faithful witness in the skies.

Happy viewing!