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Super blue blood moon to rise at the end of January 2018

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Super blue blood moon: What to know about the rare celestial event at the end of January

PlayJim Scalzo/EPA

WATCH Rare celestial phenomenon to light up the night sky in 2018

    Even after the ball drops at midnight on Dec. 31, the new year will bring another big, bright, shining orb at the start of 2018.

    At the end of January, skywatchers will be able to glimpse a rare phenomenon: a super blue blood moon.

    PHOTO: An airplane crosses in front of the moon, a supermoon, in Avondale Estates, Georgia, Dec.3, 2017. Erik S. Lesser/EPA
    An airplane crosses in front of the moon, a supermoon, in Avondale Estates, Georgia, Dec.3, 2017.

    The event may sound like a complicated tongue twister, but it's really just the confluence of three celestial occurrences.

    A blue moon is the second full moon of a month — in January, there will be a full moon on New Year's Day and on Jan. 31 — while a supermoon is when the full moon appears larger and brighter to the naked eye.

    PHOTO: Seen from Downing Street, the moon rises behind the London Eye, Dec. 01, 2017 in London. Paul Davey/Barcroft Media via Getty Images
    Seen from Downing Street, the moon rises behind the London Eye, Dec. 01, 2017 in London.

    These two events will coincide with a total lunar eclipse, or blood moon, on Jan. 31.

    PHOTO: A supermoon rises in front of a replica of the Statue of Liberty sitting atop the Liberty Building in downtown Buffalo, N.Y., Dec. 3, 2017. Julio Cortez/AP
    A supermoon rises in front of a replica of the Statue of Liberty sitting atop the Liberty Building in downtown Buffalo, N.Y., Dec. 3, 2017.

    Most days the moon is nearly 238,855 miles from Earth, but during the supermoon it will be approximately 223,068 miles away, according to NASA. During a supermoon, the moon can appear up to 14 percent larger and 30 percent brighter than usual.

    A total lunar eclipse occurs when a full moon passes into Earth's shadow, making the moon appear red — hence the nickname blood moon.

    Altogether, the three events — a blue moon, a supermoon and a blood moon — will make for a spectacular show the last night of January.

    PHOTO: The moon rises behind the Uppatasanti Pagoda seen in Naypyitaw, Myanmar, Dec. 3, 2017. Aung Shine Oo/AP
    The moon rises behind the Uppatasanti Pagoda seen in Naypyitaw, Myanmar, Dec. 3, 2017.
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