Where can I watch the lunar eclipse live online? On Sunday, Sept. 7, the full corn moon will pass through Earth’s shadow, glowing an eerie reddish-orange for 1 hour and 22 minutes during a spectacular total lunar eclipse.
It’s the longest total lunar eclipse since 2022, but it won’t be visible from North America, which will be on the day-side of Earth at the time. About 6.2 billion people — 77% of humanity, according to Timeanddate.com — will be able to see totality during this eclipse, clear skies allowing, from Australia, Asia, Africa and Europe. However, many people know they won’t get a good view — because of clouds, daylight or geography — which makes this a web-based spectator sport for many.
Finding a reliable YouTube livestream is difficult. Many channels claim to show eclipses live, but just use old footage from past events. However, the following YouTube channels have been vetted based on past eclipse coverage, so you can follow the eclipse live in confidence.
Timeanddate
Timeanddate.com consistently provides high-quality live streams of eclipses. Presented by affable astronomers Anne Buckle and Graham Jones, the livestreams feature real-time animations, maps, times, expert guests and feeds from around the world.
The website’s mobile observatory — which moves about in search of clear skies — will this year be in Cyprus, where the partial eclipse phases occur 30 minutes after moonrise, with totality an hour after that.
The Virtual Telescope Project
Although Asia is where the totality eclipsed moon will occur highest in the night sky, Europe gets a glimpse of totality shortly after moonrise. The farther east, the better the viewing. This livestream from The Virtual Telescope Project will share real-time views from Italy, where totality begins just as the full moon appears on the eastern horizon. “When the eclipsed moon is about to rise, the sun will be just about to set on the opposite side, so the sky will still be bright, well into civil twilight,” writes Gianluca Masi at The Virtual Telescope Project. “This will slightly dilute the bronze hue of the very young total phase, which will also be affected by atmospheric absorption, which will ‘restore’ some of the satellite’s redness.”
The live feed — from robotic telescopes in Manciano, north of Rome, Italy — will start at 17:45 UTC (1:45 p.m. EDT) on Sept. 7. It will be the first total lunar eclipse visible from Italy since 2022.
Wishing you clear skies and wide eyes.