The rare eclipse takes place on Wednesday, January 31, combining three lunar phenomena: A supermoon, a blue moon and a blood moon.
A meteorologist has explained each lunar event and where viewers will be able to see the spectacle.
Simon King said: “So, we’ve got something really cool happening tonight, and it’s a Moon trilogy.
“It’s called a super blue blood moon. So let’s break that down, start off with the ‘super’ part.
“Now, of course, the moon orbits the earth, in an ellipse, so sometimes the moon is close to the earth than other times and we call that the Perigee, and that’s going to happen through Wednesday night.
“So the Moon might appear a bit bigger and brighter than usual. The ‘blue’ part of that saying is that every month we have a full moon, but on some occasions, because of the lunar cycle we have two full Moons. So we call that second one a blue moon, here the phrase, ‘once in a blue moon’ because it’s quite a rare occurrence.
“And then the third thing is the ‘blood moon’. And that is because also on Wednesday night there is a total lunar eclipse, and that is going to make the Moon turn a little bit red.”
The BBC meteorologist then explained that the UK would not see the “blood Moon”, but could catch a “glimpse of that super blue moon”.
He said: “We’re not going to see it here in the UK. It’s more likely to be on the other side of the world.
“But those three things together make it a super blue blood Moon.
“But for many of us, I think actually through tonight you should see a chance to see a glimpse of that super blue moon in the skies above the UK.”
The whole of the eclipse will be visitable Australia, eastern Asia and parts of Canada, while the west coast of the US is also set to witness the event.
NASA program executive Gordon Johnston said: “For the continental US, the viewing will be best in the West. Set your alarm early and go out and take a look.
“Weather permitting, the West Coast, Alaska and Hawaii will have a spectacular view of totality from start to finish.”
Dr Gregory Brown said the eclipse will “definitely not be visible from the UK, not even a partial eclipse”.
But he claimed the optimum time to view the UK’s super blue moon will be around 12.40am, when the moon is at its highest.
NASA will be broadcasting the entire eclipse live online for those who are not able to see it in the night sky.
Below is a breakdown of what time totality will occur across the United States and its path (All local times):
- Washington DC – 7.51am to 9.07am
- New York City – 7.51am to 9.07am
- Chicago – 6.51am to 8.07am
- Kansas City – 6.51am to 8.07am
- Denver – 5.51am – 7.07am
- Phoenix – 5.51am – 7.07am
- Los Angeles – 4.51am to 6.07am
- Seattle – 4.51am to 6.07am