Rare super blue moon: What is it and where can you see it?

Tomorrow evening the world will see a very rare super blue moon, the first in over a decade, and the last for at least another few years.

But what makes this moon so rare and special? According to astronomy educator at Auckland's Stardome Observatory, Josh Aoraki, the combination of a super moon and a blue moon is what makes this occurrence so remarkable.

“First, is the super moon aspect. It’s basically when a full moon is occurring while the moon happens to be at its closest point to earth. That’s because the moon's orbit is elliptical, so there are points where it’s closer than others,” said Aoraki.

During this phenomenon, the moon is supposed to appear larger and brighter.

“This [super moon] is basically combined with the colloquial saying of a ‘blue moon’. That’s where we have two full moons in a month, which is pretty rare. We only get those every few years,” Aoraki said.

Despite the name, the super blue moon is actually not blue in colour at all, but refers to the rarity of the occurrence.

“The saying ‘blue moon’ is essentially just something that’s rare. The moon goes around the world in about 28 days, so we usually only ever get one full moon a month. So, whenever we have two full moons in a month, which is quite rare, that’s where that saying ‘once in a blue moon’ comes from,” said Aoraki.

Those who are eager to see the rare moon won’t have to wait too long, as the full moon will be rising as soon as the sun sets.

“If you want to get a good view of the moon, the best time to see it is when it rises and that’ll be in the eastern sky. If you can get up a hill and get a clear unobstructed view of the east, you’ll see that moon rising,” said Aoraki.