🌒Total lunar eclipse on 14 March 2025

A total lunar eclipse on the morning of Friday 14 March 2025, seen in full from the Americas. From here only the first bite of the partial phase could be seen before moonset, and not even that through cloud.

What I saw: cloud, from our third-floor balcony, at 05:55.

Nothing changes, which is the pleasure of astronomy news. But I notice what I did with it: three days after a launch and a 02:40 rollback, I set an alarm for something I could not influence at all and felt better for getting up.

The red Moon I did not see was the first thing anyone asked about at 🗓️ Birthday dinner at Salt & Ember the next evening. Emil said cloud is the house special.

There is a second chance this year, in the evening and the right way up for Europe: 🗞️ Total lunar eclipse on 7 September 2025.

Marcus has a line for people who would sooner stay under the blanket, 💬 In the morning when thou risest. He meant work and not astronomy, but it got me as far as the balcony.

• A real event, on my birthday. I took it personally.
• Alarm at 05:40. The astronomy society had announced a dawn watch, one of the 🎳 Castle Mound Observatory nights held at the wrong end of the night for once.
• Cloud. A flat grey lid from the estuary to the mound, with one brighter patch low in the west where the Moon presumably was.
• Even with a clear sky it would have been a short show. From this part of Europe the Moon was setting just as the Earth's shadow began to cross it. The full red eclipse belonged to the Americas.
• Then the estuary loop in the half dark, and deadlifts at seven. Thirty-four.