Blood Moon Total Lunar Eclipse Tonight — Worm Moon Captured Over Northern Ireland
Skywatchers tracked a blood moon total lunar eclipse tonight as the Worm Moon rose over Northern Ireland on Monday and Tuesday night (ET). The March 3 total lunar eclipse plunged the lunar disk into Earth’s shadow and produced the crimson hue known as a Blood Moon. Photographers from Auckland to Manila and Beijing captured images even as observers in the UK saw only an orange-tinged Worm Moon.
Blood Moon Total Lunar Eclipse Tonight: Global photos and visibility
The March 3 total lunar eclipse was visible across large parts of the Americas, Asia and Oceania, with skywatchers in parts of North America, South America, East Asia and Australia most likely to see totality (ET). Photographers documented the sequence from city skylines and remote dark skies: Phil Walter captured images as the partial phase began over Auckland; Ted Aljibe photographed an orange-hued disk over Manila; Fred Lee captured views from Beijing as sunlight slipped away from the lunar surface. The event transformed the full moon into a crimson-hued disk as Earth’s umbral shadow covered the lunar face.
What observers in Northern Ireland saw and the Worm Moon tradition
In Northern Ireland the first full Moon of spring, known as the Worm Moon, rose on Monday and Tuesday night (ET). The Worm Moon name links back to ancient seasonal naming traditions used before modern calendars. The March full Moon carries that name because it signals when earthworms begin to emerge from the soil as spring warms; it is also called Crust Moon in some traditions. In this instance the full lunar eclipse itself was not visible from the UK, though some observers noted an orange hue on the rising Moon.
Why the Moon turns red during total lunar eclipses
A total lunar eclipse occurs when Earth moves between the Sun and the Moon and the Moon passes through Earth’s umbral shadow. During totality no direct sunlight reaches the lunar surface; only sunlight filtered through Earth’s atmosphere reaches the Moon. The atmosphere scatters blue light and lets longer, redder wavelengths pass, bathing the lunar disk in rust and crimson tones — the appearance that gives the phenomenon the name Blood Moon.
Quick context: Full Moon names mark seasonal rhythms — the next full moons are scheduled as the Pink Moon on 1 April (ET) and the Flower Moon on 1 May (ET). The Pink Moon is named for early spring wildflowers and is not itself pink; other traditional names include Egg Moon, Fish Moon and, later in the year, Strawberry Moon.
What’s next: photographers and skywatchers will turn their attention to the April 1 Pink Moon and the May 1 Flower Moon (both dates noted ET), while images from this March 3 event will continue to circulate as the global view of the eclipse is studied and enjoyed. For those who missed the spectacle, the record of the blood moon total lunar eclipse tonight offers a clear account of where it was seen and why the Moon changed color.
