A total lunar eclipse turned the moon a brooding, dark red overnight on Wednesday as the event coincided with a supermoon and a blue moon - for the first time over Australia in almost 35 years.

Astrophysicist Alan Duffy said the random event was a rare trifecta, with the moon appearing "super" big and a third brighter than usual.

A blue moon refers to when there is a second full moon in a calendar month. The first January full moon over Australia was on the second.

The last time it happened in Australia was December 30, 1983, the same year Bob Hawke was elected prime minister.