The astronomical event of the year will occur on the evening of September 7, 2025, as a total lunar eclipse will dye the Moon a deep red just after sunset. Positioned high in the sky, it will also appear larger than a typical full moon.
This will be the first such phenomenon visible from Italy in three years; the last observable total lunar eclipse was on May 16, 2022, while the most recent one on February 14, 2025, occurred at 6 a.m. as the Moon was setting and was impossible to see from the country. The next opportunity to see a blood moon from Italy will not be before December 31, 2028.
Numerous in-person and online viewing events are being organized across Italy and in other regions where the eclipse will be visible, including most of Europe, Asia, Australia, and Africa. It will not be observable from the United States.
All eyes will turn to the sky starting at 7:30 p.m. CEST on Sunday, September 7, when the Moon begins to pass through Earth’s shadow. A lunar eclipse occurs when the Moon travels through the cone of shadow created when Earth aligns between the Sun and the Moon. For this event, the Moon’s initial entry into the shadow will not be visible, but just after 8:00 p.m., when it is already high in the sky, observers will see the satellite fully eclipsed and colored a intense red.
This crimson hue is a result of Rayleigh scattering, where Earth’s atmosphere refracts the red component of sunlight onto the Moon while scattering the blue light. The Moon will gradually exit Earth’s shadow and will return to its normal color by 11:00 p.m., concluding the eclipse. The spectacle is not to be missed, as the Moon will also be near its perigee, the closest point to Earth in its orbit, making it appear slightly larger than usual.
The National Institute for Astrophysics (INAF) will host a live online observation, streaming the event in real-time from its sites in Rome and Palermo, as well as from other global locations via Time and Date, on its EduINAF YouTube and Facebook channels starting at 7:15 p.m.
A separate live stream, organized by astrophysicist Gianluca Masi, will be provided by the Virtual Telescope Project beginning at 7:45 p.m. Additionally, star-gazing evenings are planned throughout Italy by groups affiliated with the Italian Amateur Astronomers Union, from La Spezia and Ravenna to Salento, and from Cinisello Balsamo to Benevento and Siracusa. A particularly evocative event is scheduled at Cerveteri’s UNESCO World Heritage Site, the Banditaccia Necropolis, organized by the Gruppo Astrofili Palidoro and the Gruppo Archeologico Romano.