Moon

October's Hunter's Moon peaks at 12:11 a.m. EDT on October 26, Space.com reports

October's full moon, called the Hunter's Moon, reaches peak illumination at 12:11 a.m. EDT (0411 GMT) on October 26, at which point observers on Earth will see it in its completely illuminated phase, Space.com reports. Space.com notes that on October 25 at sunset, the lunar orb will appear in the eastern sky and may take on a yellow-orange tone low on the horizon, a product of sunlight scattering through the thicker layer of atmosphere there.

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Why this full moon carries the Hunter's name#

The October full moon gets the Hunter's Moon name from the period when farmers had finished clearing their fields, leaving game easier to spot and giving hunters moonlight to work by into the night, Space.com reports, citing the Old Farmer's Almanac.

The Farmers' Almanac lists the exact peak as 12:12 a.m. EDT on Monday, October 26, 2026, and calls it the full moon that follows the Harvest Moon, which fell on September 26 this year, four days after the equinox. The outlet recommends watching Sunday evening, October 25, when the moon rises near sunset nearly full, or Monday evening, when it is still close to round.

Other cultures have their own names for this moon. Space.com reports that the Cree call it the Migrating Moon, tied to the seasonal bird migration, while the Ojibwe and Haida call it the Ice Moon or Freezing Moon. The lunar event aligns with Kojagiri Purnima, a Hindu celebration where devotees of the goddess Lakshmi observe ritual practices including nocturnal vigils and abstaining from food, as Space.com notes.

The sky events surrounding the full moon#

Before the full moon appears, the Orionid meteor shower, debris shed by Halley's Comet, peaks on the night of October 21-22, according to Yahoo Creators, which cited NASA's October skywatching roundup. More meteors are visible in darker locations away from city lights.

NASA also reports that the moon will pass in front of Jupiter in the pre-dawn hours of October 6, hiding the planet from view for about an hour before it reappears, an event most of North America will have a chance to observe starting around 4 a.m. EDT. The Draconid meteor shower, named for the constellation Draco, peaked the night of October 8 into October 9, with a nearly new moon leaving little interference from moonlight, NASA says.

Western astrology's reading of the Taurus full moon#

The Hunter's Moon reaches fullness in Taurus this year while the sun moves through Scorpio, a pairing Hindustan Times says highlights matters of safety, confidence and what individuals hold dear. Astrologers describe Taurus as linked to comfort, money, stability and the physical world, and Scorpio as tied to emotional depth, intimacy, shared resources and transformation, according to Hindustan Times.

The next full moon after the Hunter's Moon will be the Beaver Moon, reaching peak illumination at 9:53 a.m. EST on Tuesday, November 24, and marking the first of three consecutive supermoons, the Farmers' Almanac reports.

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