'Super blue blood moon': Lunar trifecta glows in night sky

The shadow of the earth passes over the moon during the beginning of a total lunar eclipse on Jan. 31, 2018.

The moon is putting on a rare cosmic show. It's the first time in 35 years a blue moon has synced up with a supermoon and a total lunar eclipse.

The Earth's shadow covers the moon on Jan. 31.

The full moon was a rare combination of a blue moon (the second full moon in a single calendar month), a supermoon (a moon that's full when it's at its closest point in its slightly elliptical orbit around Earth), and a total lunar eclipse or blood moon. In the U.S., the best views of the eclipse were on the West Coast.

A moon comes out of a lunar eclipse as it sets past an ocean pier.

Stars shine around the moon during the total lunar eclipse above the Mojave Desert.

The Earth's shadow upon the lunar surface gives it a reddish tint.

The moon hangs above the Ferris wheel on the Santa Monica Pier.

The moon sets behind Amboy Crater, a cinder cone volcano in the Mojave Desert, at the end of its total eclipse.

The moon sets behind Salesforce Tower before dawn.

A cable car gondola moves past the moon during the lunar eclipse.

The eclipsing moon appears with the northern lights, or aurora borealis, in the early morning sky.

The moon during partial eclipse sets behind the Statue of Liberty on Jan. 31.

The shadow of the Earth passes over the moon on Jan. 31 in this composite image.

A plane passes in front of the moon during the total lunar eclipse. 

The full moon shines over a monument dedicated to Red Army heroes on Jan. 31.

The full moon backdrops a flock of birds on Jan. 30.

Supermoons occur at the point of orbit known as perigree so they appear slightly larger in the sky. 

People watch as a full moon rises over Los Andes mountain range on Jan. 30.

The moon rises over the Old Town on Jan. 30.

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