The incredibly early morning hours of January 31st will play host to what NASA calls an incredibly rare celestial convergence; the "super blue blood moon".
Now, we know that sounds super made up (or like a science themed tongue twister) but KTLA was able to break it down for you.
So, a “supermoon” is when a full moon occurs at the same time as its perigee, the closest point of the moon’s orbit with Earth. The result: the moon appears larger than normal…
Chances are you have used the phrase “once in a blue moon” — but have you ever wondered where it came from? The well-known idiom actually refers to the rare instance when there is a second full moon in a calendar month.
A “blood moon” occurs during a lunar eclipse when faint red sunbeams peek out around the edges of the moon, giving it a reddish, copper color.
If you want to peek at this rare sighting, luckily California is in peak position to watch the full show.
For those of you in North America, Alaska or Hawaii you can catch the eclpise before sunrise and thos in the the Middle East, Asia, eastern Russia, Australia and New Zealand, the “super blue blood moon” will be visible during moonrise on the morning.
If you're on the East coast and want to see the eclipse, NASA lunar blogger George Johnston has some advice:
“Unfortunately, eclipse viewing will be more challenging in the eastern time zone. The eclipse begins at 5.51 a.m. ET, as the moon is about to set in the western sky, and the sky is getting lighter in the east.
Your best opportunity if you live in the east is to head outside about 6.45 a.m. and get to a high place to watch the start of the eclipse. Make sure you have a clear line of sight to the horizon in the west, opposite from where the sun will rise.”
Also, we know not everyone is a super early riser...so if you miss this lunar event don't worry, Virtual Telescope will be streaming the event live and there will be another lunar eclipse......next year.