Pumpkin Orange Hunter¡¯s Full Moon Of October 2022: All You Need To Know

October¡¯s full moon, also known as the Hunter¡¯s Moon occurred on Sunday (October 9) when the moon would be in a large orange-hued avatar, reveals a Space.com report.

David Haworth/stargazing.net

What¡¯s best is that skywatchers will get to glimpse the nearly full moon for several nights before as well as after October 9.

Hunter¡¯s Full Moon

The name comes into the picture since it was at one time, regarded as a signal for the time to hunt, in order to prepare for the cold winters that would follow. This is also the first full moon that would follow the Harvest Moon that was spotted on September 10. To the unaware, the Harvest Moon indicates the beginning of fall in the Northern Hemisphere.

The Hunter¡¯s Moon will reach maximum illumination around 4:54 PM EST (2:24 AM IST), however, it will be below the horizon at this time, which indicates that skywatchers will have to wait till sunset to see the moon in all its glory.

Why does it appear so orange and large?

The moon tends to appear larger than it normally does, while also getting a prominent orange tint, hinting that Halloween isn¡¯t too far. It gets this colour since the full moon is seen close to the horizon, where the light that it reflects towards us passes through more of the atmosphere on our planet, compared to when it is close to overhead.

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The reason it appears large also has to do with how it is perceived by the human eyes and brain. Father¡¯s Almanac reveals that when the moon is overhead, it is somewhat dwarfed by the vast horizon, making it appear as small as a ping-pong ball.

However, when it appears close to the horizon, we tend to compare it with fewer celestial objects in the sky and instead see it against earthly objects like buildings, trees that make the moon appear gargantuan.

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