Don’t Miss Next Week’s Incredibly Rare 'Super Blue Blood Moon Eclipse'

A blue moon—the second full moon to occur in one calendar month—isn’t as rare as the common saying suggests. But on January 31, skygazers will be in for a much rarer lunar event: For the first time in 35 years, a blue moon coincides with a total lunar eclipse, and as a bonus, the moon will seem bigger than usual, TIME reports.

The "super blue blood moon," as it’s been dubbed, is the result of a perfect storm of celestial conditions. First, it’s the second full moon this month following the first on January 1. Second, the full moon will rise at the part of its monthly orbit that dips closest to Earth, a point called perigee. This causes the moon to appear larger and brighter in the night sky. And finally, all of this is occurring during a total lunar eclipse, which happens when the Earth’s shadow fully blankets the moon.

Because a blue moon really isn’t blue at all, the moon on January 31 will display the same reddish (or bloody) tint that typically comes with a lunar eclipse. To catch it, you’ll have to rise early: Totality begins around 7:51 a.m. on the East Coast of the U.S. and at 4:51 a.m. for the Pacific side. The moon will fall totally within the Earth’s shadow for approximately one hour and 16 minutes after that. Because they'll see it occurring farther from sunrise, spectators in the western half of the country will have the better view.

The super blue blood moon is the second lunar event with an epic name to take place this month. The night of January 1 saw a wolf moon, the name given to the first full moon of the new year.