'Super blood wolf moon eclipse' will take place on Jan. 20

Posted: 7:21 AM, Dec 27, 2018
Updated: 2018-12-27 12:15:26-05

Super Blood Wolf Moon Eclipse. No, it's not a death metal band — it's a rare lunar phenomenon that will occur on Jan. 20.

The super blood wolf moon eclipse is actually just the concurrence of three separate phenomena — a lunar eclipse, a super moon and a wolf moon.

A lunar eclipse occurs when the Earth is positioned between the sun and the moon, casting the moon completely in the Earth's shadow and giving it an organish, "bloody" look. Full lunar eclipses occur between two and four times a year.

A supermoon occurs when the moon is within 90 percent of its closest possible distance to the Earth. According to , the moon's orbit will take it between 221,681 miles and 252,622 miles this year. On Jan. 20, the moon will be about 222,274 miles from Earth as a full moon.

Finally, the "wolf moon" is just another name for the first full moon of the year. This year's full moon just so happens to coincide with a lunar eclipse and a supermoon.

The super blood wolf moon eclipse will occur at 12:12 a.m. ET on Jan. 21, but you'll be able to watch the moon turn from white to orange in the hours beforehand.

Jan. 20 will mark the final time a lunar eclipse and a supermoon occur at the same time until May 2021.