Skywatchers observe a deep red total lunar eclipse

In the early hours of Monday September 8, 2025

Many members of Sydney City Skywatcher's either headed for Observatory Hill or took their smart phones, binoculars and telescopes out to their backyards to view the total lunar eclipse. As predicted this eclipse began at 2:30am and finished at 5:57am, and totality was particularly long. Catherine viewed the eclipse from home through her binoculars and she was pleased that the clouds did not hamper totality remarked that the early rise was worth it 'there will not be a lunar eclipse as favourable as this until 2028'. Ann was also at home and took the photograph shown left with her iphone from her yard.

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Dirk and Southerly were on Observatory Hill with Fiona and Reuben observing with quite a crowd of mostly young adults waiting in anticipation for the single cloud to move away just before totality began. Reuben had his telescope and was also viewing other objects in the sky. During totality the Moon was a very dark red and it was easy to see many stars and the planet Saturn nearby. Above are a few of the photographs taken by Reuben (top 3 photographs) and Southerly (bottom 3 photographs in the group above).

Mid totality, T. Stevenson

Toner and Ron were also on Observatory Hill and noticed that the Moon appeared to go a deeper shade of red than previously observed total lunar eclipses. In and out of clouds Toner used her EOS80 Canon camera and a 200-600mm zoom lens, but it was very windy and the tripod kept shaking, so for totality she mounted her camera to the back of her Skywatcher telescope and had more success, also the wind dropped. Many of those on the hill came and took photographs of the images that appeared on her screen and at the end of totality, exactly 4:53, the strong light of the Moon emerged out of the Earth's shadow and Ron remarked 'this looks a bit like the total solar eclipse diamond ring effect' and indeed it was almost as dramatic as you can see in Southerly's image (above lower right). To see the final stage of the eclipse they headed off to the Spit and viewed sunrise in the east and to the west, just before the Moon set, the eclipse ended and the full Moon was again revealed. Here is Ron's photograph of people observing the eclipse and Toner's photographs of the eclipsed Moon and her set-up. The lower right image is a smart phone image of the Moon just before the Earth's shadow left it at 5:52am.

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Anupam was also observing near the city and took the stunning image below of the Earth's shadow beginning to leave the eclipsed Moon:

If you are interested in these images (copyright protected to the photographers), our experiences or joining our society please contact our secretary via email: sydneycityskywatchers@gmail.com.