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How to see the full moon and planets this weekend

Thursday, July 31, 2025

By:

Howie Chang

Forward College News

Two eclipse events will emerge in the sky as summer ends.

A total lunar eclipse will be visible in Europe, Asia, Australia, Africa, parts of eastern South America, Alaska and Antarctica on September 7 and 8, according to Time and Date.

A lunar eclipse occurs when the moon passes directly into Earth’s shadow and the three celestial objects — the sun, Earth and the moon — line up. This causes the moon to appear darker or dimmed.

When the moon sits in the darkest part of Earth’s shadow, the sun’s rays peek out from behind the moon and give it a reddish hue, according to London’s Natural History Museum. Some people call the result a “blood moon.”

Two weeks after the total lunar eclipse, a partial solar eclipse will be visible in parts of Australia, the Atlantic, the Pacific and Antarctica on September 21.

Solar eclipses occur when the moon moves between the sun and Earth. In this case, the moon will not fully block out the sun, which means only part of the sun’s surface will be blocked off, according to NASA. This creates a crescent shape in which it looks like something took a “bite” out of the sun.