The Hunter's Moon is peaking, illuminating our increasingly long October nights.

[mahatmakanejeeves]

Last edited Wed Oct 24, 2018, 04:05 PM - Edit history (1)

The Hunter’s Moon is peaking, illuminating our increasingly long October nights:

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Capital Weather Gang

The hunter’s moon is peaking, illuminating our increasingly long October nights

The moon is full Wednesday night.



The hunter's moon in 2016. (Joseph Gruber/Flickr) (Joseph Gruber via Flickr)

By Ian Livingston October 24 at 10:33 AM

October’s full moon, also known as the hunter’s moon, reaches peak fullness and brightness Wednesday. The moon has already put on a show and will shine brilliantly for the next few nights.

The hunter’s moon is the full moon that comes after the harvest moon, the first full moon after the equinox. A hunter’s moon usually falls in October but sometimes in November.

The name ties into multiple historical traditions, and the moon occurs when it’s prime time for stocking up on game animals, such as deer, ahead of the coming winter. In the Southern Hemisphere, the hunter’s moon occurs six months from now.

In Washington, Wednesday’s full moon rise is set for 6:44 p.m., or during the finality of the twilight period, about 30 minutes after sunset (6:17 p.m.). Clear skies should allow optimal viewing in the Mid-Atlantic as well as along the West Coast. Cloudy conditions in the central and southeast United States will impair sky-watching conditions.
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Ian Livingston is a forecaster/photographer and information lead for the Capital Weather Gang. By day, Ian is a defense and national security researcher at a D.C. think tank. Follow https://twitter.com/islivingston

Look for Arcturus in the northwest at sunset. When I first saw it on Saturday (I think), I thought it was an airplane. I couldn't think of any star that should be there. I pulled out my wonderful Planetarium app on my Palm Tungsten T|X, and it quickly identified the mystery light in the sky.

[elleng]

1. Heckuva pic!

The moon turns precisely full on October 24 at 16:45 Universal Time. At United States time zones, that places the time of full moon on October 24, 2018, at 12:45 p.m. EDT, 11:45 a.m. CDT, 10:45 a.m. MDT, 9:45 a.m. PDT, 8:45 a.m. AKDT (Alaskan Daylight Time) and 6:45 a.m. HST (Hawaiian Standard Time).

so we've already MISSED peak fullness today, and can't even see it; Moon rises today @ 6:42 p.m! Clear skies all day, so looking forward to catching it when visible here, around 7 (after sunset, @ 6:15.)