A rare celestial event will occur on January 31, when a blue moon will be eclipsed to create a Super Blue Blood Moon phenomenon. The once in a lifetime natural occurrence was last seen over 150 years ago and is set to repeat itself two days from now.
While lunar eclipses are not rare, the strange combination of a blue moon, super moon, and a blood moon is what stargazers of this generation will not experience again in their lives. The eclipse of the Super Blue Blood Moon will take place on the night of January 30. As the moon enters the phase of total eclipse, it will align perfectly with the sun and attain a reddish tinge.
The phenomenon will be best visible from the western hemisphere. Skygazers in the Middle East, Asia, eastern Russia, Australia, and New Zealand will be able to witness the event during moonrise on January 31, The Guardian reports.
Although most parts of the world will be able to experience the rare event with naked eyes, if you are unable to step out at the right time to witness the Super Blue Blood Moon, the event will also be live streamed on NASA TV and nasa.gov/live on January 31, 2018 at 5:30AM EST (4:00PM IST). The total duration of the event is 77 minutes. In India, the eclipse is expected to last for about an hour so you could start preparing for a sky-gazing evening.
If you do happen to miss experiencing the upcoming lunar eclipse, the next total lunar eclipse will happen on January 21, 2019. However, it will not be a Super Blue Blood Moon.The rare instance where three different lunar events happened together was recorded way back on March 31, 1866, and it is unlikely we would be alive to witness the next such phenomenon.