Over 1 billion people world wide including north and south America saw a total lunar eclipse on Friday, March 14, 2025, with totality for 65 minutes, the first one since 2022. The next total lunar eclipse will occur on Sept. 7, 2025, over Australia, Asia, Africa, and Europe, followed by another one on March 3, 2026. I missed the eclipse of March 13, 2025, due to clouds and rain but here is a video explaining how to make a time lapse of the full moon rising that you can make every month when the moon is full if it is clear:
Everyone learns in school that the moon, like the sun, rises in the east and sets in the west. But does it? Yes, the moon appears to rise in the east and set in the west with respect to terrestrial objects but when you look at the moon with respect to background stars at night you will notice as you watch the moon over time, that the moon appears to move eastward as the night progresses. The moon appears to move westward 1/2 a degree every two minutes with respect to terrestrial objects but when you watch how the moon moves with respect to the stars, it appears to move its own diameter, about half a degree, eastward every hour– the same direction that the earth rotates. If you go out and observe the moon every night from about the same time, the moon’s eastward motion against the background stars becomes apparent. And you can observe the moon’s eastward motion as you see the moon appear in a different constellation of the zodiac with each successive month.
Stay Inspired
Take the time to look up into the night sky.
And don’t miss the next total lunar eclipse.
