NASA: There will be a super moon on New Year’s Day and a total lunar eclipse at the end of the month

NASA: There will be a super moon on New Year’s Day and a total lunar eclipse at the end of the month On the first day of 2018, the United States will usher in the first super moon of the year. It doesn’t matter if you miss it,...

On the first day of next year (2018), the United States will usher in the first super moon of the year. It doesn’t matter if you miss it, because there will be another super moon on the last day of January next year.

According to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) website, the first super moon (Super Moon) in 2018 will appear on January 1. People in the eastern United States will see a big, bright and full moon at 9:24 pm that day.

Super moons occur when the moon is closest to the earth and occur approximately every 13 months. It will be 14% larger and 30% brighter than the normal full moon. The previous supermoon was on December 3, 2017.

If you miss the super moon on January 1, don’t worry, because the second super full moon next year will appear on January 31.

>The super moon photographed in Marseille, southern France, on December 4, 2017. (ANNE-CHRISTINE POUJOULAT/AFP/Getty Images)

NASA said that two super moons will appear within one month approximately every two and a half years. Some people will call the second full moon a "Blue Moon". It is just an astronomical term. The color of the moon that people see that night is similar to what they usually see. They will not see a blue moon.

On December 3, 2017, the super moon over Washington, USA. (NASA/Bill Ingalls via Getty Images)

What’s even more special is that the blue moon on January 31 next year will coincide with a total lunar eclipse. The earth, sun, and moon are aligned, and the earth will block the sun’s direct light on the moon. This total lunar eclipse can be seen by people in North America, the Pacific and East Asia.

NASA said the full moon won't be that bright that day, but it will "show an eerie, dimmer glow than a normal full moon, possibly with a reddish tint."

CNN News quoted information from the Timeanddate.com website as saying that the best time to enjoy the super moon is the moment the moon rises, that is, when the moon rises from the horizon. The website also provides a calculator to help netizens check the best time to watch the super moon where they live. If you can't watch it, you can watch it on these two websites: The Virtual Telescope Project and Slooh.com.