Total lunar eclipse to bring ‘Blood Moon’ over Vietnam

The eclipse will occur when the Sun, Earth, and Moon align, casting Earth’s shadow over the lunar surface. 

As the Moon moves into full eclipse, it will appear a deep red color. 

This reddish hue is caused by sunlight passing through Earth’s atmosphere, where shorter blue wavelengths scatter and longer red wavelengths bend toward the Moon.

According to AFP, the total eclipse will last from 12:30 am to 1:52 am (Vietnam time) on Monday. 

The Vietnam Astronomy and Cosmology Association confirmed that the entire eclipse will be visible in Vietnam, which falls within NASA’s 'All Eclipse Visible' zone.

If skies remain clear, stargazers across the Southeast Asian country will have a rare chance to watch the entire sequence of the eclipse unfold from the partial stages to the total phase and back again.

The eclipse will also be fully visible across much of Asia, including India and China, as well as Western Australia and parts of Eastern Africa. 

Viewers in Europe and Western Africa will catch a partial eclipse during moonrise. 

However, the phenomenon will not be visible in the Americas.

Astrophysicist Ryan Milligan of Queen’s University Belfast explained that the Moon’s reddish tint during an eclipse results from Earth's filtering of sunlight. 

“That’s what gives the Moon its red, bloody colour,” he told AFP.

Unlike solar eclipses, no special glasses are needed to view a lunar eclipse, making the event safe to observe with the naked eye.

This is the second total lunar eclipse of the year, following one in March. 

Milligan, a seasoned eclipse chaser, noted that Monday’s Blood Moon is a 'prelude' to the next rare total solar eclipse, which will occur on August 12, 2026 and be visible only in parts of Spain and Iceland.