October Full Moon Tonight Is A Hunter’s Moon Supermoon
MIAMI, Florida - The October 2024 Full Moon tonight is a Supermoon that will occur on Wednesday, October 16, 2024, beginning with a moonrise over Florida's east coast at 7:01 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time (with a few minutes of variation depending on your exact location).
The Full Moon will technically be 99.9% full at 7:26 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time on October 17, according to the U.S. Naval Observatory.
October's Full Moon is called a Hunter’s Moon that also happens to be a Supermoon in 2024.
What is a Supermoon?
According to NASA, a Supermoon occurs because the Moon is in an elliptical orbit around the Earth.
When the Moon is closest, it is at its orbital perigee, which is why a Super Moon is also known as a Perigee Moon.
At its closest point, the full moon can appear up to 14 percent bigger and 30 percent brighter than the faintest Moon of the year, which occurs when it’s farthest from Earth in its orbit.
A full moon at its closest point to Earth definitely will be big and bright. But it won’t look much, if any, different than a “normal” full moon and will not have any readily observable effect on our planet except perhaps slightly higher tides for most areas around the world and much higher King Tides in South Florida.
October's Full Moon is the third of four consecutive supermoons. The first Supermoon occured in August.
When is the best time to watch the Supermoon?
Low hanging moons near the horizon appear larger to humans. So, the Supermoon will appear biggest to the naked eye on the U.S east coast during and just after the moonrise.
Why is October’s Full Moon Called a Hunter’s Moon and Moon?
According to the Farmer’s Almanac, Native Americans looked to October’s full moon as the signal to gather meat for winter so this full moon was called the Hunter’s Moon.
The Hunter’s Moon is the first full moon after the Harvest Moon . The Harvest Moon is the closest full moon to the Fall Equinox. This year, the Autumn Equinox and changing of the calendar seasons will occur on September 22, 2024.
The “Blood Moon” name is believed to come from the blood associated with hunting or the turning of leaves to red during the Fall.
Are Blood Moons Red?
The date of a full moon, all by itself, doesn’t affect the full moon’s color.
However, because this is a low-hanging moon, the moon’s light reflected from the Sun must travel through more atmosphere which can turn the color of the moon orange-yellow.
Full Moon High Tide
For those planning to walk, bike, or run along the beach in Florida, this Full Moon brings along with it a 4 ft. + Atlantic Ocean high tide on the east coast and a 2 ft. + high tide on Florida's Gulf Coast.
