Don’t be surprised to find a large, bright orb peering into your windows this weekend.
October 2022’s full moon is technically Oct. 9 with full illumination at 4:54 p.m. ET. but it will look full Oct. 8- Oct. 11 due to it’s orbit in relation to the Sun and Earth.
It will also look larger and more luminous than some of the year’s other full moons because it will appear at sunset when the sky is glowing
What’s in a name?
The Old Farmer’s Almanac explains that unlike folklore and native American names for full moons, The Harvest Moon and Hunter Moon are related to the autumn equinox.
The Harvest Moon was the full moon closest to the fall equinox on Sept. 22 and so the October full moon is the Hunter Moon because that is the name of the moon that follows the Harvest Moon.
EarthSky an excellent, on-line source of moon and planetary information, points out that the Harvest and Hunter moons relate to the season when autumn starts because of the moon’s orbital path at that time. That means that in the Northern Hemisphere the moon will appear bright in the east just as the sun is setting in the west for several nights.
