A rare 'blue moon' for New Year's Eve

For some lucky viewers in much of Europe, Africa, Asia, and Australia, the 'blue moon' will also partially eclipse.

According to this article in Universe Today,

"Although there were 41 Blue Moons in the twentieth century, there was one of only four during an eclipse (in 1982), and the only total eclipse of a Blue Moon in the twentieth century. A Blue Moon happens every 2.7 years because of a disparity between our calendar and the lunar cycle. The lunar cycle is the time it takes for the Moon to revolve around Earth: 29 days, 12 hours, and 44 minutes."

The next sighting of a 'blue moon' will be on August 2, 2012, and the even rarer phenomenon of two blue moons in one year will next occur in 2018, on January 31 and March 31.