The Hunter’s Moon

The Hunter’s Moon will be appearing in the northern hemisphere on Sunday, October 9th this year.  It always follows the Harvest Moon, the full moon that appears closest to the autumnal equinox. 

Full moons occur when the sun and moon are on opposite sides of the Earth.  A full moon is almost 12 times brighter than a first or third quarter moon.  The Harvest Moon’s name signifies that farmers working to bring in their crops will have enough light in the evening to work a few additional hours each day.  After the harvest is complete, and fields are more open and easier to hunt in, the Hunter’s Moon will provide a few extra hours to kill enough prey to stockpile a family’s winter larder. 

In autumn, the path of the moon, known as the ecliptic, makes a narrow angle with the horizon and  shortens the amount of time between the setting sun and the rising moon.  At this time of year, the moon rises 30 minutes later each evening instead of 50 minutes later as it does the rest of the year.  It will be particularly bright for several nights before and after the actual full moon, providing about two weeks of extra harvesting or hunting time.

The moon takes 27.3 days to orbit the Earth, but with the Earth orbiting the sun in the same direction, it actually takes 2.2 days longer for the moon to get back to the same point in the sky.  A lunar month, 29.5 days long, is the time it takes for the moon to return to the same place.  In our calendar, only February is shorter than 29.5 days, so each month typically has one full moon.  A second full moon in one month, called a blue moon, occurs every 2.7 years, and no full moon in February occurs every 19.5 years.  The next time there will be a month without a full moon will be in 2037.

When the moon rises, it looks huge, but this is only an illusion.  To prove this to yourself, take a small object, such as a bottle cap and with one eye closed, hold it at arm’s length in front of you, covering the moon.  Note how small or large the object is in relation to the moon.  Do this when the moon is on the horizon and later when the moon is high in the sky.  The object and moon will be the same size relative to each other at both viewing times.  A full moon covers the same area of sky at all times during the night and no one full moon is any bigger or brighter than any other. 

A full moon may have a reddish-orange tinge when it is close to the horizon.  This is due to the extra amount of atmosphere between you and the moon compared to when it is straight over your head.  The Earth’s atmosphere scatters blue light, but it lets red light waves through, giving the moon a reddish tinge.

I hope you all have a clear night sometime this week and get out to see this monthly phenomena.  For more moon names and history, take a look at  https://www.timeanddate.com/astronomy/moon/full-moon-names.html