January skywatchers are in for a rare treat: a Blue Moon, a total lunar eclipse and a supermoon all in the same month.

A Blue Moon is when two full moons happen in the same calendar month; lunar eclipses occur when the moon passes into Earth's shadow; and supermoons happen when the moon's perigee — its closest approach to Earth in a single orbit — coincides with a full moon. In this case, the supermoon also happens to be the day of the lunar eclipse.

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Skywatchers, take note! On Jan. 1, 2018, Earth will be closest to the moon at 4:54 p.m. EST (2154 GMT), according to EarthSky.org. The moon will be full at 9:24 p.m. EST (0224 GMT on Tuesday Jan. 2).

New Year's supermoon

A supermoon occurs when the moon is at perigee — its closest point to Earth in its monthly orbit — around the same time as a full moon. The moon looks slightly larger and brighter than average at these times.

The moon that will be visible on New Year's Day will appear bigger than usual, but most people will not notice the difference. However, thanks to a phenomenon called the "moon illusion," the moon may appear bigger when it's close to the horizon, so this New Year's supermoon may be most impressive when it's rising.

Moon myths

The Full Wolf Moon gets its name from the hungry wolves that would howl outside Native American villages during these January full moons, according to the Farmer's Almanac. However, some people argue that the names for the full moons actually come from Anglo-Saxon culture, according to timeanddate.com.