Hunker down, winter is on the way
The Hunter’s Moon
Look to the sky on October 28th for the full moon of October, known as the Hunter’s moon. But even better, if we are lucky with the cloud cover, (or lack of it) we get an eclipse too! Unfortunately, the penumbral eclipse will take place when the moon is still below the horizon, but after the moon rises above the horizon (at 5:54pm ET) this is when we get a little sliver of a show. Buckle up. It is going to be amazing!
At 6:00pm—when the eclipse reaches its greatest magnitude—while the entire Moon is above the horizon is magic hour. Get to the highest point you can, looking East/Northeast otherwise you will miss it. By 6:26pm, the whole thing will be finished. So really, it is more like a magic minute, or two. Magic happens fast I guess.
What is it about a full moon that feels so special? For me it’s that it is so fleeting. There are some months where I miss seeing the moon all together in its brightest state. Whether there is cloud cover, or whether I am just too plain busy to take notice of its phase. Native Americans certainly never did that. The Algonquin tribe gave names to the moons of the month, to mark the passing of the seasons. The month of October was deemed the Hunter’s moon because it was time to stock up on provisions for the coming hunkering down in winter. While it seems entirely not possible for winters’ grasp to have hold anytime soon, the moon tells us many things. And I can’t let these 70 degree days we have been enjoying fool me. Winter is indeed on her way. December’s Cold moon will be here in a few weeks.
Writer’s note: The image of the moon you see here was actually taken in my yard on August 1st, 2023.
