Take a look up to the heavens and you’ll see a big ol’ supermoon light up the sky over Beaufort, SC this week. October’s full Hunter’s moon will reach its peak on this Thursday, October 17th at 7:26am EST. It will be a supermoon, the third of four in a row, and will be the closest to Earth, and the brightest, out of all four of them.
The full moon in October is known as the Hunter’s Moon because it takes place during the time of year when hunters would collect and store food for winter. This month it’s a bonus because it’s a full Hunter’s supermoon.
The earliest written use of the term “Hunter’s Moon” identified in the Oxford English Dictionary is from 1710. According to the Farmer’s Almanac, with the leaves falling and the deer fattened, it is time to hunt. Since the harvesters have reaped the fields, hunters can easily see the animals that have come out to glean (and the foxes that have come out to prey upon them).
The Maine Farmer’s Almanac first published Native American names for the full Moons in the 1930s. Over time these names have become widely known and used.
According to this almanac, as the full Moon in October the Algonquin tribes in what is now the northeastern United States called this the Travel Moon, the Dying Grass Moon, or the Sanguine or Blood Moon.
Some sources indicate that the Dying Grass, Sanguine, and Blood Moon names are related to the turning of the leaves and dying back of plants with the start of fall. Others indicate that the names Sanguine and Blood Moon are associated with hunting to prepare for winter.
October’s full Hunter’s moon will be joined by four of the naked-eye planets. Venus will be the first that becomes visible after sunset, though it will be difficult to see from mid-northern latitudes. Then comes Saturn, Jupiter, and Mars.
Supermoons by definition happen “when a full moon coincides with the Moon’s closest approach to Earth in its elliptical orbit, a point known as perigee,” according to NASA.
“During every 27-day orbit around Earth, the Moon reaches both its perigee, about 226,000 miles (363,300 km) from Earth, and its farthest point, or apogee, about 251,000 miles (405,500 km) from Earth.”
Supermoons in general appear 17% bigger and 30% brighter than when the moon is at its farthest point away from Earth, according to NASA. Supermoons are slightly bigger and brighter than most full moons, too. Just because it’s bigger and brighter doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll see it unaided, so binoculars may give you a better view.
Enjoy the view of the full Hunter’s supermoon, Beaufort, SC!
