Skygazing with Carolinda
Hunter’s Supermoon!
Welcome to Skygazing with me, Carolinda. In October, Hunter's Moon appears, but only once in three long years. We store food for winter season to stop hunger. That's the reason. This year's Hunter's Moon will appear in our skies on Thursday, October 17th, and it is again a supermoon. As if that's not enough, it will be the brightest supermoon of the year. Now remember, supermoons happen when the Moon, in its orbit around the Earth, is closest to our planet. So it appears bigger and brighter than normal, up to 15% brighter and 30% bigger than regular full moons. If you recall last month posting, we saw that the harvest moon is one that is closest to the autumnal equinox, meaning that it can occur in either September or October. The Hunter's Moon is the first full moon to follow the harvest moon. So that means, once every four years, the Hunter's Moon can show up in November. It is called the Hunter's Moon because it rises when hunters would track and kill animals that have been fattened up for winter, such as deer and elk, to have in store for food for the cold winter months. While Hunter's Moon isn't the only name for this full moon, this particular moniker has been in the Oxford English Dictionary since the early 18th century. It's also known as the Sanguine or Blood Moon, the Dakota's Drying Rice Moon, and the Crease Migrating Moon. Shortcast Club
Another Supermoon, and it will be the brightest!