About Tonight’s Full Moon, The Hunter’s Moon
What is the Hunter’s Moon?
Every Full Moon is given a name based on the month in which it falls and October’s is known as the Hunter’s Moon.
Many of the names given to full moons can be traced back hundreds of years to the Native Americans and were passed on to colonial Americans when they arrived in North America.
“The Algonquin Native American tribes referred to October’s moon as the full Hunter’s Moon because it signalled the time to go hunting in preparation for winter,” the Old Farmer’s Almanac said.
“Since the harvesters have reaped the fields, hunters can easily see the fattened deer and other animals that have come out to glean and the foxes that have come out to prey on them.”
This is just one of many names given to October’s Full Moon over the centuries by cultures all around the world.
Across southeastern Asia, October typically marks the end of the monsoon and has influenced the nickname for the month’s Full Moon.
“For Hindus, this full moon is Sharad Purnima, a harvest festival marking the end of the rains.
“For Buddhists, this full moon is Pavarana, the end of Vassa – sometimes given the English names ‘Rains Retreat’ or ‘Buddhist Lent’ – the three-month period of fasting for Buddhist monks tied to the monsoons,” the Old Farmer’s Almanac said.
Occasionally, October’s Full Moon can also be the famed Harvest Moon, the name given to the Full Moon closest to the Autumn equinox.
However, in 2018, the Harvest Moon fell on September 24, just days after the autumnal equinox.
People heading outside to gaze at the Hunter’s Moon may also spot a few meteor streaks across the sky.
Why Does It Look So Big?
The full moon appeared so large in the sky as it is near the horizon, but it’s not actually bigger, in fact it is an optical illusion.
When the Moon is near the horizon, it also tends to look brighter or more orange.
The orange colour of the Moon near the horizon is a true physical effect, and stems from the fact when you look toward the horizon, you are looking at a greater thickness of Earth’s atmosphere than when you gaze up and overhead.
You can test this by just holding an aspirin at arm’s length, the aspirin will exactly cover the Moon when it’s by the horizon and it will do the same when you hold it up to the sky when the Moon is higher up but appears smaller.
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