Thursday 17 October we will witness the third of four consecutive “Superlunes” at the end of 2024, the so-called “Hunter’s Supermoon”. The latter will be there brighter than 2024making the Moon appear full for about three days, from Tuesday evening to Friday morning. The “Supermoon” is a journalistic term designed to indicate a full Moon that occurs when the latter is within 90% of the perigee (point of maximum proximity to the Earth), making it larger (up to 10%) and brighter ( up to 30%) of a normal full Moon. The event will be clearly visible to the naked eyebut it will be at its most spectacular when the Moon is low on the horizon.
How and when to observe the supermoon
The maximum full moon phase of the “supermoon” will occur exactly on October 17th at 1.26pm Italian time, in broad daylight and before the rise of our natural satellite, so it will be visible in Italy only after the Moon has passed its maximum point of fullness. However, the Moon it will appear full for about three daysfrom Tuesday evening to Friday morning. On October 17, the Moon will rise in the direction east-northeast at 6.19pm (coordinates of Rome), setting at 07:10 the following morning.
The event will be clearly visible to the naked eye, but will be at its most spectacular when the Moon is in sight low on the horizon. Under these conditions the Moon will appear reddish, because the Earth’s atmosphere will scatter the blue light reflected from the Moon more than the red light, which will remain relatively undisturbed giving our satellite its characteristic reddish color. It’s the same mechanism that makes the Sun red at sunrise and sunset!
What is the “Hunter’s Super Moon”
“Supermoon” is a now well-known journalistic term, not astronomical, which since 1979 has indicated a full Moon which occurs when it is within 90% of its maximum approach to the Earth (the so-called “perigee”). They are therefore the largest (up to 10%) and brightest (up to 30%) full moons of the year.
The “Supermoon” of October 17th is the third of four consecutive “Supermoons” and is the brighter than 2024. The Full Moon on October 17 is also called the “Hunter’s Moon” since it coincides, historically, with the period in which the fields had been harvested by farmers and consequently hunters could more easily see their prey crossing the flattened fields.