Great news for all the stargazers out there!
A ‘harvest moon’ is rolling into town and hitting up L.A. skies. The moon is reaching its peak fullness tonight, at around 7 pm PDT technically before the sun sets, but it will still be incredibly bright and stunning once it gets dark. But this isn’t the only full moon you’ll be treated to this month, Halloween will also boast a rare celestial occurrence known as the blue ‘hunter’s moon’.
According to NASA, the name ‘harvest moon’ is an old European name that came about as far back as 1706, when Maine Farmers Almanac published older native-American names for full moons.
“According to this almanac, as the full Moon in October and the first full Moon of fall, the Algonquin tribes in what is now the northeastern USA called this the Travel Moon, the Dying Grass Moon, or the Sanguine or Blood Moon,” they explained. “Some sources indicate that the Dying Grass, Sanguine, and Blood Moon names are related to the turning of the leaves and dying back of plants with the start of fall.”
So, set your alarms and take in the stunning moon while you can! It’s one of the few years the “Harvest Moon” falls in October, and it will appear full for about three days, from Wednesday morning through Saturday morning.