You're going to want to wake up early tomorrow for this rare lunar phenomenon

(Image credit: NASA)

published 30 January 2018

There are very few compelling reasons to set your alarm for before 6 a.m., but millions of Americans will have a pretty good one Wednesday morning. Before the sun comes up, there will be a trifecta of concurrent rare lunar events — the first time they've all overlapped in 150 years, USA Today reports. The resulting phenomenon, called a "Super Blue Blood Moon," refers to the moon being a supermoon, blue moon, and eclipsing at the same time.

To break all that down: A supermoon is when the moon is closest to Earth, and therefore bigger and brighter than usual. A blue moon refers to it being the second full moon of the month. "Blood" refers to the red tint the moon gets during a total lunar eclipse. If you really want to go crazy, you can also throw in "snow" too, as a snow moon is a nickname for the second full moon of the year.

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Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.

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