It’s the first time a Super Blue Blood Moon will have been witnessed in 150 years since March 31, 1866. But how can you see it? Here’s what you need to know.
According to NASA, the January 31 full moon is the one you need to put in your diary.
There will be a Blue Moon, a rare occurrence every couple of years when two full moons fall within the same calendar month.
This particular Blue Moon will pass through Earth’s shadow giving some viewers a total lunar eclipse and as it does so, the moon will turn a reddish hue meaning it is also a Blood Moon.
If that wasn’t enough for space boffins, the 2018 Blue Moon also coincides with the second supermoon of this year.
Supermoons are when the moon appears 14 percent larger and about 30 percent brighter than usual as it is closer to Earth in its orbit.
January 31 follows the last supermoon on January 1 and marks the last in NASA’s ‘supermoon trilogy’, the first on which happened on December 3 2018.
NASA said: “Sometimes the celestial rhythms sync up just right to wow us.”
How to see the Super Blue Blood Moon in the sky
According to EarthSky.org the January 31 Blue Moon is at 1.27pm UTC – the same as GMT.
For observers in the United States it will be 8.27am EST, 7.27am CST and and 4.27am AKST.
The Blue Moon occurs with the lunar eclipse and the best place to see it will be in central and eastern Asia, Indonesia, New Zealand and Australia, according to Space.com.
The moon will be totally immersed in the Earth’s dark umbral shadow for 76 minutes.
Unfortunately, we won’t be able to see the eclipse in the UK as it will occur over the Eastern Hemisphere.
To view the Super Blue Blood Moon, the Royal Observatory Greenwich says it’s vital that there is a cloudless night.
You can try using a small telescope of pair of binoculars to see the moon’s detailed surface or try taking some pictures yourself.
ROG said: “However, you can see the moon perfectly well with just your eyes. Seeing moonrise just after sunset or moonset just before sunrise will be an impressive sight as it will appear enormous compared to the surrounding landscape, due to an illusion.
“During moonrise, the moon looks bigger than it is because our brain doesn’t understand that the sky is a dome. It falsely projects things near the horizon to appear larger than they actually are.”