Sky-gazers across the world, including Ireland, can look forward to a stunning spectacle of nature’s wonder this coming Sunday and Monday night when a total lunar eclipse will turn the full moon a blood red colour.
As the moon passes through the Earth’s shadow, it will change colour to a deep crimson red, creating a striking ‘Blood Moon’.
While the full eclipse is due to begin at around 6:30 pm, and last for 90 minutes, people in Ireland and other countries in Western Europe, will not have a clear view until the moon rises high in the sky, but it depends on where you are in the world.
A lunar eclipse takes place when the Earth is directly between the Sun and the Moon, blocking sunlight and casting a shadow across the Moon’s surface.
According to National Geographic, this will be the second lunar eclipse of 2025, and thanks to its visibility across some of the world’s most populous geographical regions, nearly six billion people will have front row seats to this sky show.
"Depending on our planet’s atmospheric conditions, the shade of the blood moon can range from bright orange to a deep, rusty red. Predictions for this eclipse suggest a fairly bright orange-red disk since Earth’s atmosphere is relatively clear of volcanic debris and heavy dust right now."
National Geographic says this September’s eclipse is a total one, meaning Earth’s shadow will engulf the entire moon. All the eclipse phases unfold over about five and a half hours.
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As for the weather, if it’s raining or if there’s a lot of cloud about, then the event will not be as spectacular as it could be, and Alan O’Reilly from Carlow Weather says there’s a lot of uncertainty surrounding a potential storm off the west coast that could reach our shores this weekend.
"Still a lot of uncertainty about potential storm Sunday night into Monday but the trend across models now is to see center of low off the West coast," he wrote on Twitter (X). "Four different models showing wind gusts forecast for midnight Sunday night here."
Still a lot of uncertainty about potential storm Sunday night into Monday but the trend across models now is to see center of low off the West coast. Four different models showing wind gusts forecast for midnight Sunday night here. pic.twitter.com/oEUCMbW04t
— Carlow Weather (@CarlowWeather) September 5, 2025
When asked by Extra.ie about the potential storm, Alan O’Reilly added that it’s the uncertainty that’s getting to the country, saying there’s "A chance of clear skies but not certain yet, as the exact location of the storm off the west coast Sunday night continues to be uncertain.
"[It will] most likely stay out in the Atlantic but it’s uncertain yet."
*This article was originally published on Extra.ie.
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