A Bright “Hunter’s Moon” Will Rise This Weekend
Eyes to the skies, y’all!
The moon is putting on another show this weekend.
October’s full moon, also known as the “Hunter’s Moon,” will shine bright orange on Saturday. For some, it will even be eclipsed by the Earth—the remnants of the rare “ring of fire” eclipse that occurred on October 14.
According to EarthSky.org, the Hunter’s Moon will be 100% illuminated at 3:35 p.m. EST on Saturday, October 28, though, like any full moon, it will appear most striking after sunset.
Matt Cardy/Getty Images
At the peak of the event, some of the moon will be inside Earth's inner shadow, which normally causes a reddish "Blood Moon." However, because only 6% of the moon will be darkened this time, the effect will be very subtle. As Forbes describes it, the moon “may look like a small bite has been taken from it.”
As Earth Sky points out, the show will be made even more spectacular by Jupiter. Our solar system’s largest planet (and second-biggest “star”) will be near its closest point to Earth, acting like a “floodlight” on the moon.
Similar to the Harvest Moon, the Hunter’s Moon got its name from a time when humans relied on farming and hunting to survive. After the fall harvest, people would turn their attention from hunting to help get them through the winter months. The bright light of the full moon during this time allowed them to hunt into the evening hours, hence the name Hunter’s Moon.
The next full moon, the “Beaver Moon,” is set to occur on Monday, November 27, 2023.
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