A RARE celestial event lit up the skies on Wednesday night.
The super blue blood moon meant a supermoon, blue moon and lunar eclipse took place all in the same night.
It was the first time the three elements have combined for 150 years.
Tonight the UK will enjoy a #SuperBlueMoon! 🌕 But will skies be cloudy or clear? Take a look at this short video.... pic.twitter.com/iIsDyTa58b
— Met Office (@metoffice) January 31, 2018
Supermoons occur when the moon reaches its closes point to Earth, meaning it will appear 14% bigger and 30% brighter in the sky.
This supermoon is the last in the ‘Supermoon Trilogy’ which began in early December, the second supermoon - also known as a Wolf Moon - was visible on January 1.
A blue moon can be seen when two full moons (or super moons) occur in the same calendar month.
The last Blue Moon occurred on July 31, 2015, and the next will be seen on March 31 this year.
On the same night there will be a total lunar eclipse, which happens when the moon passes into the Earth’s shadow.
The eclipse will give the moon a reddish colour known as a blood moon and will be most visible from the western hemisphere.
According to NASA, stargazers living in the US will be able to see the eclipse before sunrise, while those in the Middle East, Asia, eastern Russia, Australia and New Zealand will see it during moonrise.
As the eclipse will occur at around 1.30pm GMT, it won’t be visible from the UK.
NASA said “the Moon will lose its brightness and take on an eerie, fainter-than-normal glow from the scant sunlight that makes its way through Earth’s atmosphere. [They’re] often cast in a reddish hue because of the way the atmosphere bends the light.”
“You’ll want to capture the moment when you get the chance, because it will take until May 18, 2019, for the following Blue Moon to occur.”
“Sometimes the celestial rhythms sync up just right to wow us. Heed your calendar reminders,” NASA said.
Dr Gregory Brown, an astronomer at the Royal Observatory Greenwich, said the moon will rise at about 5pm and will remain in the sky until 8am the following morning.
He said: “It will be high in the sky from about 19:00 and will be at its highest, and thus best, time at around 00:40."
Super blue blood moon January 31, 2018
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