Celebration of Space - March 7, 2025
The Total Lunar Eclipse of November 8, 2022
This coming Sunday, March 9, 2025 at 2:00 am, the switch to Daylight Savings Time (DST) kicks in. A good way to remember which way to adjust your clocks is this: “In the fall, fall back one hour. In the spring, spring ahead one hour.” This means that on Sunday morning, or Saturday night, you will set your clock ahead by one (1) hour, effectively moving from Standard Time to Daylight Time. There has been repeated discussion over the years of doing away with the switch back and forth regarding DST, but I don’t see a change coming any time soon. For now, we will be seeing later sunsets starting on Sunday, another harbinger that the winter is coming to an end in the Northern Hemisphere.
On Friday, March 14, 2025 at 2:56 am ET, the Moon will arrive at the point in its orbit where it is on the opposite side of the Earth than the Moon. This is known as opposition, or more commonly – the full Moon. The March full Moon carries the common name – The Full Worm Moon. According to The Old Farmer’s Almanac, the Worm Moon gets its name from the emerging beetle larvae from thawing tree bark. Other names the March full Moon goes by are: The Sugar Moon, The Wind Strong Moon, and the Sore Eyes Moon. In 2025, the March Moon will carry another name as well:
On Thursday-Friday, March 13-14, 2025, a fabulous total lunar eclipse will occur over the entire United States. In New England, the eclipse will start just before midnight local sky watchers, and will continue until 6:00 am. Total eclipse will kick in at 2:25 am Friday morning, this is when the Moon will become visibly red in the sky. Total eclipse will last just over one (1) hour in length, ending at 3:31 am.
A lunar eclipse occurs during the full Moon, but what is different from other full lunar phases is that, during an eclipse, the Moon will orbit into Earth’s shadow. Because the Moon orbits 5.1º inclined to the ecliptic, the path the Sun takes across the sky, the full lunar phase can occur above or below Earth’s shadow. Usually about two or three times per year we will see the Moon orbit close enough to the ecliptic to enter Earth’s shadow. Not every lunar eclipse will be a total eclipse due to this phenomenon. Sometimes we will only see a partial eclipse, which is when only part of the Moon passes into Earth’s shadow. At other times we may only see a penumbral eclipse, which is when the Moon passes only into the penumbra – Earth’s secondary shadow. The next lunar eclipse for New England, after this week, will occur on March 3, 2026, but we will not see the entire eclipse due to the Moon setting during the eclipse.
To see this week’s eclipse, you do not need to be at Frosty Drew, you can see it anywhere that has a clear view of the sky. Set your alarms for the following times:
1:09 am to catch the start of the partial eclipse stage.
2:00 am for a fantastic view of the partial eclipse.
2:30 pm, to catch the start of total eclipse.
2:58 am for maximum eclipse.
3:31 am for the end of total eclipse.
4:15 am for the best part of outset partial eclipse.
At Frosty Drew we will be hosting an event starting at 11:00 pm Thursday night, and continuing until 6:00 am Friday morning. Regardless of how you choose to observe the eclipse, if the weather is clear, it will be a fabulous night with the Moon. So set up your schedule now for a stunning night out under a total lunar eclipse.
Take a moment to catch up on past lunar eclipse events at Frosty Drew Observatory in photos:
The Beaver Moon Eclipse of November 8, 2022
The Flower Moon Eclipse of May 15-16, 2022
