Total lunar eclipse March 2025: Best photos of the "Blood Worm Moon"
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission.
As the Full Worm Moon rose overnight, skywatchers across the Americas turned their eyes — and their cameras — toward the sky. Over several hours, Earth's shadow slowly crept across the lunar surface, turning our celestial neighbor into a deep, blood-red orb.
This was the first total lunar eclipse since 2022, and photographers — both amateur and professional — were not going to let the rare opportunity to capture the spectacle pass, even if it meant staying awake well into the early morning hours.
If you didn't manage to see the total lunar eclipse or if you just want to relive the show all over again, we've rounded up some of the best "Blood Worm Moon" photos from across North America and beyond. So sit back, relax, and enjoy the show.
A lunar eclipse occurs when the sun, Earth, and moon align in such a way that Earth casts its shadow on the moon. During totality, the moon moves through Earth's umbra, the darkest part of its shadow, creating the deep red hue of a "Blood Moon." The March full moon is traditionally known as the "Worm Moon" because this is the time of year when the ground softens and earthworm casts reappear. For these reasons, this total lunar eclipse in March is sometimes referred to as the "Blood Worm Moon."
Landscape astrophotographer Josh Dury has sent us some breathtaking photos of the total lunar eclipse from his vantage point at Castle Stalker, Appin, Scotland.
Dury headed to Scotland in search of good weather and found it! In a battle against the setting moon and the rising sun, Dury captured some remarkable shots of the total lunar eclipse.
Image 1 of 5
Image 2 of 5
Image 3 of 5
Image 4 of 5
Image 5 of 5
Space.com's Josh Dinner captured this stunning shot of the "Blood Moon" while waiting for his car to charge on a long drive home from Florida.
Photographer Yuri Cortex captured a beautiful, rusty-red view of the moon during the total lunar eclipse from Mexico City, Mexico.
Stargazers in Australia also enjoyed a great view of the total lunar eclipse. Photographer Izhar Khan captured the "Blood Moon" over Lake George near Canberra, Australia.
Photographer Brandon Bell took this lovely detailed photograph of the total lunar eclipse over Merritt Island, Florida. Here you can see the lower right portion of the moon in Earth's deep umbra shadow.
It looks like we weren't the only ones watching the lunar eclipse! Here, the rusty red moon appears above the "Forever Marilyn" statue in Palm Springs, California.
Below, photographer Patrick Fallon also captured the eclipse above the fronds of a palm from his vantage point in Palm Springs, California.
A beautifully detailed photograph captured by photographer Miguel J. Rodriguez shows the Blood Worm Moon shining over Daytona Beach, Florida.
Photographer Antonio Ojeda snapped this lovely scene of the full moon rising in Saltillo, Mexico.
Skywatchers gather around telescopes in Caracas, Venezuela, to see the blood-red Worm Moon.
What a shot! Aurora chaser Vincent Ledvina posted an incredible photograph on X showing not only the "Blood Moon" but the "Blood Moon" AND the northern lights!
Geomagnetic activity really picked up throughout the night, reaching G2 (moderate) geomagnetic storm levels at 9:42 p.m. EDT (0142 GMT). The sky decided to put on quite the show for those lucky skywatchers in the right place at the right time.
Another aurora chaser, Rj Rolden, captured an aurora corona overhead and the total lunar eclipse.
"Are you kidding me??? Whoaaaaa!!! I am one lucky guy who witnessed the perfect duo!!!" Rolden wrote in a post on X.
It's not just totality that wows skywatchers — every stage of a lunar eclipse has its own unique beauty. This photo by Brandon Bell captures the moment the moon enters the darkest part of Earth's shadow, the umbra.
Photographer Andrew Chin took this beautiful photo of the partial phase of the total lunar eclipse from Vancouver, Canada.
This delicate partially eclipsed moon looks stunning in this photograph captured by Yuri Cortez from Mexico City, Mexico. Here, we can see Earth's umbra, the darkest part of the shadow, engulfing the lunar surface during the total lunar eclipse.
If this eclipse has you excited for the next one, you won't have to wait as long as last time. The next total lunar eclipse is on Sept. 7, 2025, and will be visible across Asia and Western Australia.
Feeling inspired to take a more in-depth moonlit tour of our rocky companion? Our ultimate guide to observing the moon will help you plan your next skywatching venture, whether it be exploring the lunar seas, mountainous terrain, or the many craters that blanket the landscape. You can also see where astronauts, rovers and landers have ventured with our Apollo landing sites observing guide.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
8 hours ago
- Yahoo
SpaceX launches Starlink satellite stack from Vandenberg Space Force Base (photos)
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. SpaceX launched another batch of its Starlink satellites this evening (June 4) from California. A Falcon 9 rocket launched SpaceX's Starlink 11-22 mission from Vandenberg Space Force Base today at 7:40 p.m. EDT (2340 GMT; 4:40 p.m. local time in California). The stack of 27 Starlink satellites began their journey into low Earth orbit (LEO) aboard a Falcon 9 first-stage booster designated B1063. This was the 26th launch of B1063, which has now supported 18 Starlink missions. Booster 1063 missions Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich | DART | Transporter-7 | Iridium OneWeb | SDA-0B | NROL-113 | NROL-167 | NROL-149 | 17 Starlink missions The nine Merlin engines at the bottom of B1063 shut down approximately 2.5 minutes after liftoff, followed immediately by the separation of the booster from the Falcon 9's upper stage. About 8.5 minutes after liftoff, the B1063 landed safely on SpaceX's Of Course I Still Love You drone ship, stationed in the Pacific Ocean. Its successful landing inches it closer to SpaceX's record-holder B1067, which has flown a total of 28 launches. The rocket's upper stage continued toward LEO, ultimately deploying the 27 Starlink satellites there about one hour into flight. Each satellite will maneuver into more specific orbits within the Starlink's megaconstellation over the next few days. Related stories: — SpaceX: Facts about Elon Musk's private spaceflight company — Starlink satellites: Facts, tracking and impact on astronomy — SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launches 21 Starlink satellites on record-setting 26th flight (video, photos) SpaceX's Starlink network consists of more than 7,600 operational satellites and counting. As a whole, they operate in a lattice that provides a blanket of coverage to nearly all of the planet. Starlink offers users a high-speed internet connection from anywhere customers are able to point their Starlink receiver toward the sky (other than the poles). Tonight's launch was SpaceX's 68th Falcon 9 mission of 2025 and 71st overall liftoff so far this year. The additional three were test flights of Starship, SpaceX's next-generation super-heavy-lift rocket, which most recently launched on May 27.
Yahoo
10 hours ago
- Yahoo
James Webb Space Telescope unveils fiery origins of a distant, hellish exoplanet
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. Astronomers using NASA's James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) have uncovered the tumultuous history of a distant, hellishly hot exoplanet that's being stretched and scorched by its star. The planet, known as WASP-121b, is locked in a dangerously close orbit around a star roughly 900 light-years away that's brighter and hotter than our sun. Locked in a blistering 30-hour orbit, the world lies so close to its star that intense tidal forces have warped it into a football-like shape, leaving it on the verge of being torn apart by gravity. One side of the planet faces its star permanently, baking at temperatures over 3,000°C (5,400°F) — hot enough for it to rain liquid iron. Even the opposite hemisphere, locked in eternal night, simmers at 1,500°C (2,700°F). This extreme environment makes WASP-121b one of the most hostile planets ever observed, and a valuable target for planetary science. Now, using the James Webb Space Telescope's (JWST) Near Infrared Spectrograph instrument, or NIRSpec, a team led by astronomer Thomas Evans-Soma of the University of New Castle in Australia detected a cocktail of molecules in the planet's atmosphere that each carry chemical clues to its dramatic journey. These include water vapor, carbon monoxide, methane and, for the first time ever in a planetary atmosphere, silicon monoxide. Together, they tell a dramatic origin story of WASP-121b written in vapor and stone, described in two papers published Monday (June 2). "Studying the chemistry of ultra hot planets like WASP-121b helps us to understand how gas giant atmospheres work under extreme temperature conditions," Joanna Barstow, a planetary scientist at the Open University in the U.K. and a co-author of both new studies, said in a statement. The findings from both studies suggest WASP-121b did not form where it is today. Instead, it likely originated in a colder, more distant region of its planetary system, similar to the zone between Jupiter and Uranus in our own solar system. There, it would have accumulated methane-rich ices and heavy elements, embedding a distinct chemical signature in its growing atmosphere. Later, gravitational interactions — possibly with other planets — would have sent WASP-121b spiraling inward toward its star. As it moved closer, its supply of icy, oxygen-rich pebbles would've been cut off, but it should have been able to continue gathering carbon-rich gas. This would explain why the world's atmosphere today contains more carbon than oxygen, a chemical imbalance that offers a snapshot of its journey through the disk. To make sense of the complex atmospheric data, the second team of researchers, led by Cyril Gapp of the Max Planck Institute for Astronomy in Germany, created 3D models of the planet's atmosphere, accounting for the vast temperature differences between the day and night sides. Their simulations, described in a paper published in The Astronomical Journal, helped separate signals from different regions of the planet as it orbited, revealing how molecules shift and circulate throughout the orbit. Among the molecules newly detected, the presence of silicon monoxide was particularly revealing, scientists say, as it isn't typically found in the gaseous form they observed. Instead, the researchers suggest this gas was originally locked in solid minerals like quartz within asteroid-size planetesimals that crashed into the young planet. Over time, as the planet grew and spiraled inward toward its star, those materials would have been vaporized and mixed into its atmosphere, according to one of the new papers, published in Nature Astronomy. Related Stories: — Scientists question possible signs of life on exoplanet K2-18b in new study: 'We never saw more than insignificant hints' — Scientists found a possible new dwarf planet — it could spell bad news for Planet 9 fans — Exoplanet 'baby pictures' reveal exomoons possibly taking shape around infant worlds On the cooler "night" side of WASP-121b, the researchers found an abundance of methane gas. This came as a surprise as methane typically breaks down under such heat, the study notes. "Given how hot this planet is, we weren't expecting to see methane on its nightside," study co-author Anjali Piette, who is an assistant professor of astronomy at the University of Birmingham, said in a statement. Its presence suggests methane is being replenished, likely pulled up from deeper, cooler layers of the atmosphere. "This challenges exoplanet dynamical models, which will likely need to be adapted to reproduce the strong vertical mixing we've uncovered on the nightside of WASP-121b," study lead author Thomas Evans-Soma of the University of New Castle in Australia added in another statement.
Yahoo
10 hours ago
- Yahoo
College student discovers psychedelic fungus that eluded LSD inventor
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. A university student has discovered an elusive fungus that produces chemicals with similar effects to the psychedelic drug LSD. Corinne Hazel, an environmental microbiology major at West Virginia University in Morgantown, spotted the fungus growing on morning glories. These flowering plants belong to a large family with many species, and Hazel specifically found the fungus in a variety of Mexican morning glory called "Heavenly Blue." The fungus also grows on varieties called "Pearly Gates" and "Flying Saucers," according to a recent study published April 22 in the journal Mycologia. Morning glories were already known to contain a class of chemicals called ergot alkaloids. These chemicals, made exclusively by fungi, are the same class that the Swiss chemist Albert Hofmann used to create LSD in the 1930s. Hofmann worked with the fungus Claviceps purpurea, commonly found on rye, to synthesize LSD; he came to suspect that Mexican morning glories must have a similar chemical-producing fungus after learning that the plants were used for their hallucinogenic properties. However, that fungus has remained elusive — until now. Hazel made the discovery while searching for the long-hypothesized fungus with Daniel Panaccione, a plant and soil sciences professor at West Virginia University. She is now investigating the best ways to grow the fungus, which the team thinks may have medicinal value. "I'm lucky to have stumbled into this opportunity," Hazel said in a statement. "People have been looking for this fungus for years, and one day, I look in the right place, and there it is." Related: Scientists show how LSD blows open the doors of perception Indigenous Mesoamerican cultures were the first to recognize that Ipomoea tricolor — commonly called Mexican morning glory or just morning glory — has psychoactive properties. Knowing of I. tricolor's cultural significance, Hofmann identified the chemicals responsible. The chemicals he found were previously only known to come from fungi, but his attempts to observe a fungus on the plant were unsuccessful, according to the study authors. Researchers have since identified two separate fungi that make ergot alkaloids on two other morning glory species, and they've found additional, molecular evidence for the presence of ergot alkaloid-producing fungi on I. tricolor. However, the identity of the fungus itself remained a mystery. Now, with the new study, the elusive I. tricolor-associated fungus has finally been identified. Hazel spotted evidence of the fungus on the plant's seeds. "We had a ton of plants lying around and they had these tiny little seed coats," Hazel said. "We noticed a little bit of fuzz in the seed coat. That was our fungus." Hazel and Panaccione collected a DNA sample from the fungus and sent it away for sequencing. The sequencing revealed that the fungus was related to the fungi previously found on the two other morning glories. Hazel and Panaccione named the new species Periglandula clandestina, with the species name referencing the hidden, or clandestine, nature of the fungus. P. clandestina is very efficient at producing large amounts of ergot alkaloids, the researchers found. The toxic nature of these chemicals likely helps protect the plant from being eaten, so it's thought to be a symbiotic relationship. However, ergot alkaloids are a problem in agriculture, as they contaminate food humans eat and grasses used to nourish livestock, therefore posing a threat to humans and the animals people eat. C. purpurea, the fungi used to invent LSD, would contaminate grain and poison those who consumed it, triggering an illness called "ergotism" that involved gangrene, convulsions, double vision, and of course, hallucinations. RELATED STORIES —LSD alters consciousness by breaking down barriers in the brain —Microdosing with 'shrooms or LSD no better than placebo, study finds —Weed may be bad for your heart, whether you smoke or consume edibles That said, ergot alkaloids can also be used in medicines to treat conditions like migraines. The newly discovered fungus could therefore have a role in medicine and agriculture, the study authors propose. "Many things are toxic," Panaccione said. "But if you administer them in the right dosage or modify them, they can be useful pharmaceuticals. By studying them, we may be able to figure out ways to bypass the side effects. These are big issues for medicine and agriculture." Hofmann was pursuing the medicinal properties of fungus when he first synthesized LSD. He only discovered LSD's powerful psychoactive effects when he accidentally got a drop of it on his skin — and then deliberately ingested more a few days later. This article is for informational purposes only and is not meant to offer medical advice.
