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People across India watched a rare lunar eclipse as the Moon turned coppery red. Events at Jawaharlal Nehru Planetarium, and Dashashwamedh Ghat marked the occasion.
The blood moon appears during the lunar eclipse, in Chennai, Sunday, Sept. 7, 2025. (PTI)
People across cities and villages paused on Sunday night to gaze at the sky, where the Moon put on a dazzling show during a rare lunar eclipse.
As the Earth’s shadow slipped over the Moon, onlookers watched in awe as its bright white glow gradually dimmed and turned into a coppery-red disk, a sight popularly known as the “blood moon.”
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Open grounds, terraces, and even busy street corners turned into impromptu viewing points. In many places, temples and cultural groups marked the celestial event with prayers and traditions.
People gathered at the Jawaharlal Nehru Planetarium to observe the lunar eclipse through telescopes in Bengaluru. Association of Bangalore Amateur Astronauts President Ravi said, “The interest is from childhood, and luckily for us in Bangalore, we have this association, which started in 1976. Since that day, we have been helping people observe celestial events.”
The Science Centre organised a public viewing of the lunar eclipse in Kalaburagi, Karnataka. Visitors, including children, observed the moon darken and turn reddish during the event.
Kalaburagi, Karnataka: The Science Centre organized a public viewing of the lunar eclipse. Visitors, including children, observed the moon darken and turn reddish during the event pic.twitter.com/JRBZR0MVnz— IANS (@ians_india) September 7, 2025
Devotees gathered at Dashashwamedh Ghat as the total lunar eclipse began. During the eclipse, devotees performed holy baths and meditation.
During the lunar eclipse, saints, mahants, and devotees performed special rituals and mantra chanting at Ramkund in Maharashtra’s Nashik.
Ryan Milligan, an astrophysicist at Northern Ireland’s Queen’s University Belfast, told AFP that the Moon appears red during lunar eclipses because the only sunlight reaching it is “reflected and scattered through the Earth’s atmosphere”.
Blue wavelengths of light are shorter than red ones, so they are more easily dispersed as they travel through Earth’s atmosphere, he said.
“That’s what gives the moon its red, bloody colour,” he added.
Sunday’s eclipse was the longest total lunar eclipse visible from India since 2022, and the first since July 27, 2018, to be seen across the entire country.
Cloudy skies played spoilsport in several parts of the country, but the live streams set up by astronomy enthusiasts worldwide made up for the disappointment due to overcast skies.
“The Moon will be fully eclipsed from 11.01 pm to 12.23 am for a duration of 82 minutes,” Niruj Mohan Ramanujam, Head of Science, Communication, Public Outreach and Education (SCOPE) Section, Indian Institute of Astrophysics, told news agency PTI.
September 07, 2025, 23:45 IST
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