Super Wolf Blood Moon: When and What Time

A rare super wolf blood moon will hang in the sky on Sunday night, and there is a lot to know before observing the event.

The full moon on Sunday, Jan. 20 will combine several lunar phenomena to create a breathtaking sight in the wintry night sky. The super wolf blood moon will not appear again for 18 years, according to Good Morning America, so be sure to soak it in while you have the chance.

Experts expect the lunar eclipse to begin at 9:36 p.m. ET on North America's east coast. Around 12:12 a.m. ET, the partial eclipse will likely be at its peak.

Other than that, the moon will reportedly loom large in the sky and glow a sinister reddish color all night. The "super moon" refers to the point in its orbit where the moon is closest to the earth, making it appear the largest. Meanwhile, the "blood moon" has a colorful tinge, resulting from the sun's light refracting off of the earth's atmosphere.

Experts say the blood moon will not necessarily be red. "Rayleigh scattering" gives a colorful hue to the blood moon, sunsets, sunrises and other phenomena, but red is just the most common color. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory noted that it could be different depending on the clouds, dust, ash and organic matter in Earth's atmosphere at the time.

"We're not sure what color it will turn. It really depends on the earth's atmosphere, whether we've had storms, volcanic eruptions, all sorts of things," Dr. David Reitzel of the Griffith Observatory in Los Angeles said. "Sometimes you can even get a turquoise color to it. Sometimes the light that goes through the very top part of our atmosphere, it can bend and hit the moon, [making it appear turquoise]."

Meanwhile, the "wolf moon" is a term coined by Native Americans. It refers to January's full moon every year, when wolves "howled in hunger outside the villages." It will be many years before the super moon and blood moon coincide with the wolf moon again, making this a momentous occasion for star-gazers.

Overall, the super wolf blood moon will be an easy event to watch with the naked eye from just about anywhere in North America, as long as skies are clear. However, those that were hoping to keep warm and watch NASA's livestream of the event are out of luck. The agency will not be airing the lunar eclipse because of the government shut down. Still, Dr. Reitzel advised people to experience it for themselves anyway.

"You can watch the shadow moving across and the detail in the color, but really it's an event that you can enjoy in your backyard with your family," he said.