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VICTORIA — There will be a super blue blood moon on Wednesday and a total lunar eclipse, events that by themselves are not uncommon but combined they make for a spectacular night for skywatchers in Western Canada.

On the West Coast, the skies will feature the fantastic lunar show as the gravitational forces of the sun and moon churn up the strongest tides of the year, known as king or spring tides.

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“I’m looking to put on my star gazing hat and if it’s a nice, calm evening I’d encourage everybody to go out and have a look at the super moon,” said oceanographer Richard Dewey, associate director of science services at the University of Victoria’s Ocean Networks Canada.

“It’s one of these things that we need to know that we’re just part of a big solar system and the moon is out there as our best partner.”

A blue moon is a full moon that comes twice in the same month. During a lunar eclipse, when the moon passes into the earth’s shadow, the moon often turns red, prompting the moniker blood moon. The super moon appears larger because it’s six per cent closer to the earth and 14 per cent brighter.

Photo by Johnny Horne/The Fayetteville Observer via AP

All three events are happening Wednesday morning.

Dewey, an expert in coastal flows, tides, waves and turbulence, said the beauty and power of the moon and sea will be on full display.