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The full moon in October is just around the corner and reminds us: the spooky season is fast approaching.
On Sunday, October 9, just before 5:00 p.m. ET, a full moon will reach its fullest illumination, the US Naval Observatory’s Division of Astronomical Applications said. But the moon will still be below the horizon – you’ll have to wait until sunset to fully enjoy the Hunter’s Moon and its eerie glow.
Why the hunter’s moon? According to EarthSky, each full moon has a long list of nicknames, usually associated with the months of the year in which it occurs. However, the Hunter’s Moon and its September predecessor, the Harvest Moon, are named for the seasons.
September’s full moon was closest to this year’s autumnal equinox, which fell on September 22, making it the Harvest Moon of 2022, according to The Old Farmer’s Almanac. The full moon after the Harvest Moon becomes the Hunter’s Moon by default.
(Native American tribes have different names for the full moons, such as the Arapaho tribe’s “moon of falling leaves” for that month’s full moon and the Passamaquoddy tribe’s “fish-fish moon” for December’s full moon.)
The Hunter’s Moon has historically signaled farmers that it was time to prepare for the cold winter ahead, as according to The Old Farmer’s Almanac, the full moon’s light provided good visibility for hunting the animals they passed through the cold months would drift.
“Animals are beginning to fatten up ahead of winter, and as farmers had recently cleared their fields under the harvest moon, hunters could easily see the deer and other animals that had come out to root through the remaining refuse,” said the almanac.
As these early farmers gazed out at their lighted fields under a full moon to make a successful hunt, you might be encouraged to look up. (And if you feel like it, you can always prepare something.)
You will be able to see the Hunter’s Moon in the sky for the first time on Saturday, October 8th. And as the sun dips below the horizon on Sunday evening when it peaks, the moon will appear larger and more orange than usual – a result of the “moon illusion” phenomenon, a trick your brain plays on your eyes.
When the moon is low in the sky, it’s viewed in relation to things like smokestacks and trees so our eyes can understand its size and shape, according to The Old Farmer’s Almanac. “Your brain compares the size of the moon to the trees, buildings, or other reference points, and suddenly the moon looks massive!”
The Hunter’s Moon won’t be the only reason to keep an eye on the skies over the weekend – the Draconid meteor shower will be most visible around 7pm ET on October 8th. The meteor shower occurs “when Earth collides with debris from periodic comet 21P/Giacobini-Zinner,” said NASA’s Solar System Exploration Research Virtual Institute. “The comet orbits the Sun once every 6.6 years, leaving trails of dust in its wake,” NASA explained, which is visible to the naked eye.
You can also see the peak of these upcoming meteor shower events later this year, according to EarthSky’s 2022 Meteor Shower Guide:
• Orionids: 20th-21st cent. October
• South Taurids: November 5th
• North Taurids: November 12th
• Leonids: 17th-18th cent. November
• Gemini: 13th-14th December
• Ursids: 22.-23. December
According to The Old Farmer’s Almanac, there are two more full moons on the calendar for 2022:
• November 8: Beaver Moon
• December 7: Cold Moon
And this year there will be two more eclipses – a solar eclipse, a lunar eclipse.
A partial solar eclipse on October 25 will be visible to people in parts of Greenland, Iceland, most of Europe, northeast Africa, and western and central Asia.
A total lunar eclipse on November 8 can be seen between 3:02 am and 8:56 am ET across Asia, Australia, the Pacific, South America, and North America. But for the people of eastern North America, the moon will set during this time.
It is important to wear proper eclipse glasses to see solar eclipses safely as the sunlight can damage your eyes.