Current:Home > InvestThis week's full hunter's moon is also a supermoon! -StockHorizon
This week's full hunter's moon is also a supermoon!
View
Date:2025-04-19 06:11:29
The hunter's moon – the first full moon of fall – will rise Thursday, Oct. 17, in the eastern sky around sunset. As an added bonus, this month's full moon will also be a supermoon.
Although it will reach peak illumination at 7:26 a.m. ET, the moon will be below the horizon at that time, "so wait until sunset to watch it rise and take its place in the sky," the Old Farmer's Almanac said.
Hunter's moon follows the harvest moon
The harvest moon, which rose in September, is the full moon closest to the autumnal equinox. The hunter’s moon is the first full moon following the harvest moon.
The earliest use of the term “hunter’s moon,” cited in the Oxford English Dictionary, was in 1710.
Why is it called the hunter's moon?
October’s full moon is called the hunter's moon because it's the time of year when, historically, hunters began collecting food and storing it for the long and cold winter months ahead, according to the Old Farmer’s Almanac.
"Many moons ago, Native Americans named this bright moon for obvious reasons," the almanac said. "The leaves are falling from trees, the deer are fattened, and it’s time to begin storing up meat for the long winter ahead."
Why is it a 'supermoon'?
When the moon’s orbit brings it closer to Earth than usual, the cosmic combo is called a supermoon.
When this happens, the moon can appear slightly bigger and brighter than normal.
"Different publications use slightly different thresholds for deciding when a full moon is close enough to the Earth to qualify as a supermoon," NASA says. "Because the orbit of the moon is not a perfect circle, the moon is sometimes closer to the Earth than at other times during its orbit."
On average, supermoons appear about 7% bigger and about 15% brighter than a typical full moon.
This is the third of four straight supermoons: After Oct. 17, the final supermoon of the year is Nov. 15.
Other nicknames for the full moon
Other nicknames for October’s full moon include the falling leaves moon, the migrating moon, the drying rice moon and the freezing moon.
Four planets will be visible to the naked eye
Joined in the night sky by the hunter's moon will be four planets: Venus, Saturn, Jupiter and Mars, according to Space.com. They will all rise in the hours before or after the full moon rises, depending on your location.
Contributing: Mariyam Muhammad, Columbus Dispatch
veryGood! (488)
Related
- 2025 'Doomsday Clock': This is how close we are to self
- Jury deliberates in first criminal trial linked to New Hampshire youth center abuse
- ABC’s rules for the Harris-Trump debate include muted mics when candidates aren’t speaking
- Brittni Mason had no idea she was eligible for Paralympics. Now she's chasing gold
- House passes bill to add 66 new federal judgeships, but prospects murky after Biden veto threat
- Horoscopes Today, August 28, 2024
- Texas Attorney General Paxton sues to block gun ban at the sprawling State Fair of Texas
- A Hong Kong court convicts 2 journalists in a landmark sedition case
- Paige Bueckers vs. Hannah Hidalgo highlights women's basketball games to watch
- 10 years after Ferguson, Black students still are kicked out of school at higher rates
Ranking
- Why we love Bear Pond Books, a ski town bookstore with a French bulldog 'Staff Pup'
- US economic growth for last quarter is revised up to a solid 3% annual rate
- Fix toilets, grow plants, call home: Stuck astronauts have 'constant to-do list'
- Texas Attorney General Paxton sues to block gun ban at the sprawling State Fair of Texas
- Paige Bueckers vs. Hannah Hidalgo highlights women's basketball games to watch
- Zappos Labor Day 60% Off Sale: Insane Deals Start at $10 Plus $48 Uggs, $31 Crocs & $60 On Cloud Sneakers
- A Hong Kong court convicts 2 journalists in a landmark sedition case
- Zappos Labor Day 60% Off Sale: Insane Deals Start at $10 Plus $48 Uggs, $31 Crocs & $60 On Cloud Sneakers
Recommendation
EU countries double down on a halt to Syrian asylum claims but will not yet send people back
Hiker left on Colorado mountain by coworkers stranded overnight in freezing rain, high winds
Ludacris causes fans to worry after he drinks 'fresh glacial water' in Alaska
Falcons trading backup QB Taylor Heinicke to Chargers
New Mexico governor seeks funding to recycle fracking water, expand preschool, treat mental health
How many points did Caitlin Clark score today? Fever star sets another WNBA rookie record
Jack Del Rio, former NFL head coach, hired by Wisconsin's Luke Fickell
Taylor Swift Terror Plot: CIA Says Plan Was Intended to Kill “Tens of Thousands”