Blue Moon eclipse will conquer the sky on Jan. 31

Image: NASA/Kostian Iftica

The first lunar eclipse for 2018 will occur on the last day of January, and it will not be an ordinary one.

First, the Jan. 31 eclipse will involve a Blue Moon, which is what the second full moon of a month is called. The first full moon was up Jan. 1. Second, it’s also a supermoon, like the full moon of Jan. 1. Supermoons occur when a full moon or a new moon appear extremely large in the sky due to its proximity to the Earth.

That makes the coming lunar eclipse truly a special visual treat. A report by National Geographic calls it a “total eclipse of the blue supermoon.”

This rare kind of eclipse has not occurred for the past 150 years. According to a report on Space.com, the Blue Moon will occur over the Pacific Ocean during the middle of the night.

Those living under the evening skies over Central and Eastern Asia, New Zealand, Indonesia and Australia will have the best vantage points for the celestial event. Meanwhile, Canadians will get a front row seat from start to finish.

The next Blue Moon has been calculated to occur on Dec. 31, 2028. As per reports, the last total eclipse of a Blue Moon occurred in March 31, 1866. That was 152 years ago. Alfred Bayle/JB

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