Hunter's Moon illuminates weekend sky around the world
The first full moon of astronomical autumn rose over the weekend, shining so bright that it cast shadows after nightfall.
The autumnal equinox on Sept. 22 marked the changing of the seasons around the globe, and over the weekend, the Hunter's Moon illuminated the night sky as the first full moon of astronomical fall.
Even though it wasn't a supermoon, which appear bigger and brighter than a typical full moon, the light from the Hunter's Moon was still bright enough to cast shadows.
Photographers around the world captured images of the full moon, but some of the best footage was captured in Titusville, Florida. Trevor Mahlmann was positioned perfectly to record a video of a SpaceX rocket flying directly in front of the full moon over the weekend. Mahlmann had to stand in waist-deep water with his cameras to get the perfect angle to record the video.
The Hunter's Moon is not always the nickname for October's full moon. Instead, it is the name given to the full moon that occurs after the Harvest Moon, the full moon closest to the September equinox.
During most years, including 2022, the Harvest Moon takes place in September resulting in October's full moon being given the name of the Hunter's Moon. However, every few years, the Harvest Moon happens in the opening days of October pushing back the Hunter's Moon until November. The next time that this will happen is in 2025.
Despite the nickname, this past weekend's full moon looked similar to many others throughout the year, but that will not be the case come November.
A total lunar eclipse will unfold on the night of Monday, Nov. 7, into the early hours of Tuesday, Nov. 8, causing next month's full moon to briefly turn rusty orange or dark red in color. This will be the second total lunar eclipse visible from the entire contiguous United States this year, and the final eclipse of its kind visible from anywhere in the world until March 13, 2025.
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