Once in a blue moon

During eclipses, the moon will get a dark reddish color like rust, as our planet's satellite will enter the Earth's shadow, which will interfere between the Sun and the Moon.

On January 31, a rare and lovely celestial event, which only occurs once every 150 years, will be viewable from Earth.

A passenger plane passes in front of the wolf moon as it approaches Heathrow Airport in London on January 1.

This NASA chart by eclipse expert Fred Espenak details the visibility range and times for the January 31, 218 total lunar eclipse, which also occurs during a blue moon and near a supermoon. The moon will appear bigger and brighter in the sky.

The upcoming moon will end what NASA calls a "supermoon trilogy".

The blue moon on 31 January will also be a supermoon, a phenomenon that occurs when a full moon or new moon coincides with the point in the moon's orbit closest to Earth. The total eclipse of a blue moon has not happened in more than a 150 years apparently.

What is a blue moon?

Taking place once in every two years and eight months on average, a blue moon, named after the rarity of its occurrence, is a second full moon within a month. On America's East Coast the eclipse will start coming into view at 5:51 a.m. and will give viewers in cities like NY only a small window to see the reddish moon.

A "blue moon" will appear at 9:31 p.m.

Mr Petro said: "The supermoons are a great opportunity for people to start looking at the moon, not just that once but every chance they have!"

Unless you are a regular moon-watcher, you may not notice anything different about this full moon.

The moon is going to be a spectacular sight on January 31.

So, the upcoming eclipse on January 31 will be the first total eclipse of a Blue Moon in almost 152 years! Before 2017, there was 8% partial eclipse on 31 December 2009, but the last total eclipse of a Blue Moon happened all the way back in 31 March 1866.