The 17 October full Moon will be this year’s Hunter’s Moon<\/a> and the biggest supermoon of the year.<\/p> What’s more, on 19 October the just-past-full Moon will meet the beautiful Pleiades star cluster in the evening sky<\/p> Let’s take a look at what these terms mean and how to make the most of the event.<\/p> Find out when the next full Moon<\/a> is occurring and sign up to the BBC Sky at Night Magazine e-newsletter<\/a> for weekly Moon phases and times delivered directly to your inbox.<\/em><\/strong><\/p> The full Moon on 17 October technically becomes ‘full’ at 12:26 BST (11:26 UT), just 10 hours and 40 minutes after lunar perigee.<\/p> This makes it a perigee full Moon, popularly known as a supermoon<\/a>.<\/p> Perigee is the point in the Moon’s orbit around Earth when it’s closest to our planet.<\/p> The Moon doesn’t orbit Earth in a perfect circle: instead it has an elliptical, slightly egg-shaped orbit, so at times it’s closer to Earth than at other times.<\/p> While many seasoned astronomers prefer to use the term ‘perigee full Moon’ as a more accurate description of what’s going on, the term ‘supermoon’ nevertheless is a popular term for describing this event. <\/p> There are four so-called supermoons in 2024, and the 17 October full Moon is the second.<\/p> But why is the 17 October full Moon the ‘biggest’ of the year? It’s because it’s the closest full Moon to Earth in 2024.<\/p> The Super Hunter’s Moon \u2013 as it’s being called \u2013 will be 357,364km (222,056 miles) from Earth.<\/p> We got this info from astropixels.com<\/a>, which is a fantastic astronomical resource hosted by ‘Mr Eclipse’ Fred Espenak, and tells you all the info you need to know about upcoming full Moons and supermoons.<\/p> The average lunar apogee \u2013 when the Moon is furthest from Earth in its orbit \u2013 is about 405,500km (253,000 miles), so you can see why a supermoon might appear larger in the sky.<\/p> But will the biggest supermoon of 2024 really seem spectacularly enormous?<\/p> In truth, the answer is unfortunately ‘no’.<\/p> The difference in the size of the full Moon from one month to the next is imperceptible to the human eye, so you won’t notice that the Moon appears unusually big.<\/p> The best way of illustrating the difference is to photograph each full Moon \u2013 or even each supermoon \u2013 of the year and produce a composite image showing the relative difference in sizes.<\/p> You can see this in the image below; a composite made by astrophotographer Soumyadeep Mukherjee showing the comparative sizes of 2023’s four supermoons<\/a>.<\/p> The one time you may perceive the full Moon \u2013 supermoon or not \u2013 as being extraordinarily huge, is when it’s close to the horizon. <\/p> This is an effect known as the ‘Moon illusion<\/a>‘, and no-one is quite sure exactly what causes it.<\/p> But observe the 17 October 2024 Super Hunter’s Moon as it’s just rising above the horizon, and it should appear larger than usual.<\/p> And regardless of whether or not the ‘supermoon’ is an over-hyped concept, the truth is that a full Moon is a spectacular sight, and certainly not something to be taken for granted.<\/p> Armed with knowledge of the science behind what’s really going on, you can perhaps appreciate the 17 October supermoon a little more, and even elucidate for your fellow moongazers!<\/p> So we’ve explained the ‘super’ part of the 17 October Super Hunter’s Moon, but what’s the ‘hunter’ bit about?<\/p> This is much easier to explain: it’s simply that each full Moon of the year has been given an informal nickname, most of which describe what’s happening in nature at that time of year.<\/p> So you’ll hear the terms Wolf Moon<\/a>, Snow Moon<\/a>, Worm Moon<\/a> or Flower Moon<\/a> because these have some connection to the natural cycle of the months and seasons during which they appear.<\/p> The names have no bearing on what that Moon will look like, or whether they will appear any differently to any other full Moon.<\/p> A Hunter’s Moon is the full Moon at the time of year when hunters would traditionally be active.<\/p> The bright October full Moon provides light so hunters can see their prey, which will be fattened due to feeding in preparation for winter hibernation.<\/p> And hunters themselves will be on the lookout for large prey to take home and provide sustenance over the cold months ahead.<\/p> Arguably a more interesting sight than the Super Hunter’s Moon itself, is two nights later on 19 October when the Moon will drift through the southern portion of the Pleiades star cluster<\/a>.<\/p>2024’s biggest supermoon<\/strong><\/h2>
![\"A](\"https:\/\/c02.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/48\/2020\/01\/Perigee_apogee_moon-c550ade.png\")
![\"Comparison](\"https:\/\/c02.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/48\/2021\/03\/moon-perigee-apogee-6bd18b4.jpg\")
![\"Four](\"https:\/\/c02.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/48\/2023\/09\/supermoons-2023-labelled.jpg\")
![\"Large](\"https:\/\/c02.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/48\/2019\/04\/06-Andrew-Wallan-Rising-Moon-d15d858.jpg\")
Super Hunter’s Moon<\/strong><\/h2>
![\"Diagram](\"https:\/\/c02.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/48\/2024\/10\/moon-pleiades-19-october-2024.jpg\")
The Moon meets the Pleiades<\/strong><\/h2>