When And Where To Watch For October's Biggest And Brightest Hunter Supermoon

October’s full moon will be a “Supermoon,” also known as the Hunter’s Moon, and is the third of four consecutive supermoons this year. Other names for the upcoming Supermoon are the Travel Moon, the Dying Grass Moon, or the Sanguine or Blood Moon.

According to NASA, the name Hunter’s Moon goes as far back as the Oxford English Dictionary in 1710. The Farmer’s Almanac describes October’s full moon as being when the leaves are falling and the deer are being fattened for the upcoming hunt. It adds that since the fields have been harvested, it makes it easier to spot the animals beneath the glow of the full moon. Also, making it a hunter’s best friend is the fact that it is the brightest supermoon of 2024.

October’s full Moon is also a supermoon, or when the moon reaches its complete phase at perigee. Perigee is defined as the closest point of the moon to the Earth in its rotation, with the moon traveling around the Earth in an elliptical orbit, not a perfect circle. This elliptical path creates a near point and a far point. If the moon is within 90% of this closest point, it is considered a supermoon.

For those interested in astrology, the zodiac sign for each full moon is determined by where the moon is in the night sky in relation to the different astrological signs. Celebrity astrologer Kyle Thomas remarked in a recent interview the moon will shift, resulting in different characteristics surrounding the moon. This year, the supermoon is positioned as a full moon in Aries, a Fire sign which Thomas remarked “will bring momentum, enthusiasm, and passion to our lives.”

Also viewable in the October night sky is Comet C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan-ATLAS). If it continues on its current brightness curve, it should be visible with binoculars and (under good conditions) with the unaided eye for at least a few evenings after the 12th. The comet will be located above the western horizon to the right of Venus (at an estimated visual magnitude of 2.9 - 3.3 on the 15th).

For those on the east coast of the US, the next full moon, or supermoon, will be Thursday morning, October 17, 2024, at 7:26am EDT. This will be late Wednesday night for those on the International Date Line West time zone, and early Friday morning from New Zealand. The moon will appear full from Tuesday evening through Friday morning, according to NASA.