October 2019: The Next Full Moon is the Hunter’s Moon

The Next Full Moon is the Hunter's Moon, Travel Moon, Dying Grass Moon, Sanguine Moon, Blood Moon, Sharad Purina, Pavarana with the Boun Suang Huea (boat racing) festival, Vap Poya and the Thadingyut Festival.

The next full Moon will be on Sunday afternoon, October 13, 2019, appearing "opposite" the Sun (in Earth-based longitude) at 5:17 PM EDT. The Moon will appear full for about three days centered on this time, from Saturday morning to Tuesday morning.

This will be the Hunter's Moon, the full Moon after the Harvest Moon. According to the Farmer's Almanac, with the leaves falling and the deer fattened, it is time to hunt. Since the harvesters have reaped the fields, hunters can easily see the animals that have come out to glean (and the foxes that have come out to prey on them). The earliest use of the term "Hunter's Moon" cited in the Oxford English Dictionary is from 1710.

The Moon will appear full for about three days from Saturday morning to Tuesday morning.

The Maine Farmer's Almanac first published Indian names for the full Moons in the 1930's. According to this almanac, names for this full Moon from the Algonquin tribes of what is now the northern and eastern United States include the Travel Moon, the Dying Grass Moon, and the Sanguine or Blood Moon. Some sources indicate that the Dying Grass, Sanguine, and Blood Moon are thought to be related to the turning of the leaves and dying back of plants with the start of fall. Others indicate that that the names Sanguine or Blood Moon are associated with hunting and the Hunter's Moon. I have read that the name "Travel Moon" comes from observing the migration of birds and other animals preparing for the winter. I don't know, but this name may also refer to the season when the more northern tribes would move down from the mountains for the winter. For example, both the Iroquois and Algonquin would hunt in the Adirondacks in the summertime but would leave for winter.

In the Hebrew calendar, this full Moon falls near the start of the Sukkoth holiday, a 7-day holiday tied to the 15th day of the lunar month of Tishrei (the 15th day of a lunar month is always close to if not the same as the day of the full Moon). Sukkoth is also known as the Feast of Tabernacles or the Feast of the Ingathering. Sukkoth ties back to both the sheltering of the People of Israel during the 40 years in the wilderness in the Book of Leviticus and a harvest festival in the Book of Exodus. Often for this holiday a temporary hut symbolic of a wilderness shelter is built, and the family eats, sleeps, and spends time in this shelter. This year, the 7-day holiday of Sukkoth starts a sunset on October 13, 2019.

This full Moon occurs around the seasonal end of the monsoon rains in the Indian Subcontinent. For Hindus, this full Moon is Sharad Purina, a harvest festival marking the end of the rains. For Buddhists, this full Moon is Pavarana, the end of Vassa, the three-month period of fasting for Buddhist monks tied to the monsoons (Vassa is sometimes given the English names "Rains Retreat" or "Buddhist Lent"). In Laos this full Moon corresponds with the Boun Suang Huea or the Boat Racing Festival. In Sri Lanka, this is the Vap Poya, which is followed by the Kathina festival, during which people give gifts to the monks, particularly new robes (so this lunar month is sometimes called the Month of Robes). In Myanmar the celebration of the end of Vassa is the Thadingyut Festival, also know as the Lighting Festival.

As usual, the wearing of suitably celebratory celestial attire is encouraged in honor of the full Moon.

As for other celestial events between now and the full Moon after next:

In early autumn the daily periods of sunlight continue to shorten. For Washington, DC, on the day of the full Moon, Thursday, October 13, 2019, the period of daylight will last 11 hours, 17 minutes, 40 seconds. Morning twilight will begin at 6:18 AM EDT, sunrise will be at 7:15 AM, the Sun will reach a maximum altitude of 43.4 degrees at 12:54 PM, sunset will be at 6:33 PM, and evening twilight will end at 7:30 PM.

For Washington, DC, (and similar latitudes in the USA at least), the mornings from Friday, October 25, to Saturday, November 2, 2019, will be the darkest mornings of the year, with the latest sunrise times. Sunrise on Saturday, November 2, 2019, will be 9 minutes later (in Daylight Savings Time) than the latest Winter sunrises in late December and early January (in Standard Time). On the last day of Daylight Savings Time, morning twilight will begin at 6:37 AM and sunrise will be at 7:36 AM. If you notice you have a lot of trouble waking up in the morning in late October and early November, this might be the reason (and even if it is not, it provides a plausible excuse for sleeping in...).

On Sunday, November 3, 2019, at 2 AM EDT, we "fall back" to 1 AM EST, making the change to Standard Time. Twilight will begin at 5:38 AM EST, sunrise will be at 6:37 AM, the Sun will reach a maximum altitude of 36.0 degrees at 11:51 AM, sunset will be at 5:06 PM, and evening twilight will end at 6:05 PM. By the day of the full Moon after next, morning twilight will begin at 5:47 AM, sunrise will be at 6:47 AM, the Sun will reach a maximum altitude of 33.4 degrees at 11:52 AM, sunset will be at 4:57 PM, and evening twilight will end at 5:57 PM.

On the evening of the full Moon on October 13, 2019, as evening twilight ends, the brightest planet in the sky will be Jupiter, appearing in the southwest at about 19 degrees above the horizon. The bright planet Saturn will appear in the south-southwest at about 28 degrees above the horizon. The Summer Triangle will appear directly overhead with the bright star Vega to the west-northwest at 76 degrees above the horizon, Deneb to the northeast at 79 degrees above the horizon, and Altair to the south at 60 degrees above the horizon. The bright planet Venus and the planet Mercury will have already set in the west-southwest.

Over the following evenings Jupiter, Saturn, and the background of stars will all appear to shift west towards Sun, while Venus will appear to shift away from the Sun, and Mercury will begin by shifting away from the Sun, then turn around and shift back towards the Sun. For the Washington, DC area (and similar latitudes), Tuesday, October 22, 2019, will be when Mercury will appear highest above the horizon in the west-southwest at 30 minutes after sunset (a little less than 4 degrees above the horizon). Halloween will be when Venus will begin to be above the horizon in the west-southwest at the time evening twilight ends.

By the evening of the full Moon after next, on November 12, 2019, bright Venus will appear about 2 degrees above the horizon in the west-southwest. Second in brightness, Jupiter will appear in the southwest at about 10 degrees above the horizon. Saturn will appear in the south-southwest at about 22 degrees above the horizon. The bright star nearly directly overhead (at 81 degrees above the northwestern horizon) will be Deneb.

On the morning of the full Moon on October 13, 2019, as morning twilight begins, the planet Mars will appear in the east at about 2 degrees above the horizon. The bright stars of of the local arm of our home galaxy, including the constellation Orion, will appear spread across the sky from the south-southeast towards the north-northwest. The planet Mars and the background of stars will appear to shift to the west as the month progresses (caused by the Earth moving to the east in its orbit around the Sun). In early November, the bright star Spica will begin to appear near Mars and the pair will appear at their closest around November 10 and 11, 2019. By the morning of the full Moon on November 12, 2019, as morning twilight begins, the planet Mars will appear about 11 degrees above the horizon in the east-southeast, with the bright star Spica appearing to the right of Mars.

There will be several small meteor showers during this lunar cycle, with the most notable being the Orionids, which under better conditions could produce 10 to 20 visible meteors per hour when it peaks early in the morning of Tuesday, October 22, 2019. This year, moonlight will interfere with viewing the Orionids, and for urban sky watchers, interference from city lights makes seeing these meteors unlikely. The best time to look for meteors is after midnight but before the sky begins to lighten with dawn.

Even though they are not usually visible, I include in these Moon missives information about Near Earth Objects (mostly asteroids) that may pass the Earth within 10 lunar distances, because I find it interesting that we have discovered so many.

On Tuesday morning, October 8, 2019, at 2:27 AM EDT (2019-Oct-08 06:27 UTC with 2 minutes uncertainty), Near Earth Object (2019 TU), between 16 and 36 meters (53 to 117 feet) in size, will pass the Earth at 4.4 lunar distances, traveling at 9.80 kilometers per second (21,910 miles per hour).

On Tuesday morning, October 8, 2019, sometime around 7:40 AM EDT (2019-Oct-08 11:40 UTC with 50 minutes uncertainty), Near Earth Object (2019 TC1), between 9 and 21 meters (30 to 68 feet) in size, will pass the Earth at between 3.4 and 3.5 lunar distances (nominally 3.5), traveling at 13.11 kilometers per second (29,320 miles per hour).

On Tuesday morning, October 8, 2019, at about 8:03 AM EDT (2019-Oct-08 12:03 UTC with 3 minutes uncertainty), Near Earth Object (2019 SB6), between 12 and 27 meters (40 to 89 feet) in size, will pass the Earth at between 7.7 and 7.8 lunar distances (nominally 7.8), traveling at 7.84 kilometers per second (17,540 miles per hour).

On Tuesday morning, October 8, 2019, at 8:03 AM EDT (2019-Oct-08 12:03 UTC), Near Earth Object (2019 TM), between 28 and 62 meters (91 to 204 feet) in size, will pass the Earth at 9.4 lunar distances, traveling at 12.93 kilometers per second (28,930 miles per hour).

On Tuesday morning, October 8, 2019, at 10:36 AM EDT (2019-Oct-08 14:36 UTC), Near Earth Object (2019 TS), between 21 and 47 meters (69 to 155 feet) in size, will pass the Earth at 8.4 lunar distances, traveling at 7.76 kilometers per second (17,360 miles per hour).

On Wednesday morning, October 9, 2019, at around 6:14 AM EDT (2019-Oct-09 10:14 UTC with 9 minutes uncertainty), Near Earth Object (2019 TZ), between 12 and 27 meters (40 to 89 feet) in size, will pass the Earth at between 7.9 and 8.1 lunar distances (nominally 8.0), traveling at 11.60 kilometers per second (25,950 miles per hour).

On Wednesday morning, October 9, 2019, at about 10:27 AM EDT (2019-Oct-09 14:27 UTC with 3 minutes uncertainty), Near Earth Object (2019 SL7), between 16 and 36 meters (53 to 117 feet) in size, will pass the Earth at 1.4 lunar distances, traveling at 17.07 kilometers per second (38,180 miles per hour).

Thursday afternoon, October 10, 2019, at 2:29 PM EDT, the Moon will be at apogee, its farthest from the Earth for this orbit.

On Saturday evening, October 12, 2019, at around 5:49 PM EDT (2019-Oct-12 21:49 UTC with 8 minutes uncertainty), Near Earth Object (2019 SV9), between 22 and 49 meters (73 to 162 feet) in size, will pass the Earth at between 8.4 and 8.8 lunar distances (nominally 8.6), traveling at 13.58 kilometers per second (30,380 miles per hour).

On Sunday afternoon, October 13, 2019 (2019-Oct-13 18:24 UTC with 2 hours, 1 minute uncertainty), Near Earth Object (2019 TT1), between 17 and 38 meters (55 to 123 feet) in size, will pass the Earth at 2.9 lunar distances, traveling at 13.30 kilometers per second (29,740 miles per hour).

As mentioned above, the next full Moon will be Sunday afternoon, October 13, 2019, at 5:08 PM EDT.

On Thursday evening into Friday morning, October 17 to 18, 2019, the bright star appearing to the right of the waning gibbous Moon will be Aldebaran. For the Washington, DC area, the Moon will rise in the east-northeast at around 8:59 PM EDT, with Aldebaran rising about about 2 minutes later and 3 degrees to the right of the Moon. The Moon and Aldebaran will appear to separate as they continue to rise, with the Moon reaching its highest in the sky for the night on Friday morning at 4:21 AM. Aldebaran will appear about 8 degrees below the Moon when morning twilight begins at 6:22 AM.

On Sunday night, October 20, into Monday morning, October 21, 2019, the bright star appearing above the half-full waning Moon will be Pollux, one of the twin stars in the constellation Gemini the Twins. For the Washington, DC area, Pollux will appear to the upper left as the Moon rises in the east-northeast at 11:32 PM EDT. Pollux will appear above the Moon as morning twilight begins Monday morning at 6:25 AM.

Monday morning, October 21, 2019, the waning Moon will appear half-full as it reaches its last quarter at 8:39 AM EDT.

For the Washington, DC area (and similar latitudes), Tuesday evening, October 22, 2019, will be when Mercury will be its highest above the horizon at about 30 minutes after sunset (at around 6:50 PM EDT). If you want to see Mercury (and the much brighter Venus to the right of Mercury), you will need a clear view the horizon in the east-southeast, as they will only be about 3 degrees above the horizon. Mercury was at its greatest angular separation from the Sun as seen from the Earth a few days earlier.

Wednesday morning, October 23, 2019, the bright star appearing below the waning crescent Moon will be Regulus.

Sometime around Wednesday, October 23, 2019 (2019-Oct-23 14:19 UTC with 8 days, 3 hours, 58 minutes uncertainty), Near Earth Object (2008 CT1), between 8 and 17 meters (25 to 56 feet) in size, will pass the Earth at between 4.2 and 101.2 lunar distances (nominally 48.6), traveling at 10.43 kilometers per second (23,340 miles per hour).

Saturday morning, October 26, 2019, at 6:41 AM EDT, the Moon will be at perigee, its closest to the Earth for this orbit.

Sunday night, October 27, 2019, at 11:38 PM EDT, will be the new Moon, when the Moon passes between the Earth and the Sun and will not be visible from the Earth. The day of or the day after the New Moon marks the start of the new month for most lunisolar calendars.

The tenth month of the Chinese calendar starts on Monday, October 28, 2019 (at midnight in China's time zone, which is 12 hours ahead of EDT). Sundown on Monday, October 28, 2019, marks the start of Marcheshvan in the Hebrew calendar, the month in which the great flood began.

In the Islamic calendar the months start with the first sighting of the waxing crescent Moon after the New Moon. Tuesday evening, October 29, 2019, will probably mark the beginning of Rabi' al-awwal, the third month of the year. Most Muslims celebrate the birthday of the Prophet Muhammad, during this month, although Sunni and Shi'a Muslims disagree on the exact date.

Tuesday evening, October 29, 2019, if you have a clear view of the horizon in the west southwest, you might be able to see the bright planet Venus below the thin, waxing crescent Moon, with the fainter planet Mercury below the pair. To see Mercury in particular, you will need to look just before it sets (at 7 PM EDT for the Washington, DC area), when the sky is still light with the glow of dusk.

Wednesday evening, October 30, 2019, will be when the planets Mercury and Venus appear nearest to each other in the west-southwest. To see them, you will need to look between about 30 minutes after sunset and when Mercury sets (between 6:40 and 6:57 PM EDT for the Washington, DC area). The waxing crescent Moon will appear to the left, with the bright star Antares below, and the bright planet Jupiter farther to the left.

Sometime around Thursday, October 31, 2019 (2019-Oct-31 19:04 UTC with 9 days, 21 hours, 9 minutes uncertainty), Near Earth Object (2007 VC3), between 29 and 65 meters (96 to 214 feet) in size, will pass the Earth at between 2.2 and 140.4 lunar distances (nominally 48.5), traveling at 15.14 kilometers per second (33,880 miles per hour).

Thursday, October 31, 2019, is Halloween. Europeans have used two main ways to divide the year into seasons and define winter. The old Celtic calendar used in much of pre-Christian Europe considered winter to be the quarter of the year with the shortest periods of daylight and the longest periods of night, so that winter started around Halloween and ended around Groundhog Day (hence the origin of these traditions). In the British Isles these Quarter Days are still used in some contracts, for school terms, etc.

On Halloween evening, Thursday, October 31, 2019, the bright planet Jupiter will appear in the southwest to the lower right of the waxing crescent Moon.

Sometime around Friday, November 1, 2019 (2019-Nov-01 08:03 UTC with 4 days, 10 hours, 36 minutes uncertainty), Near Earth Object (2014 UC192), between 51 and 113 meters (166 to 372 feet) in size, will pass the Earth at between 6.4 and 60.2 lunar distances (nominally 32.8), traveling at 12.88 kilometers per second (28,800 miles per hour).

On Friday evening, November 1, 2019, the planet Saturn will appear to the upper left of the waxing crescent Moon. Later on Saturday morning, for parts of New Zealand and the southern Atlantic Ocean, the Moon will pass in front of Saturn, blocking it from view.

Sunday morning, November 3, 2019, is the end of Daylight Savings Time (for those parts of the USA that go on Daylight Savings Time).

On Monday morning, November 4, 2019, the Moon will appear half-full as it reaches its first quarter at 5:23 AM EST.

Thursday morning, November 7, 2019, at 3:37 AM EST, the Moon will be at apogee, its farthest from the Earth for this orbit.

On Monday morning, November 11, 2019, the planet Mercury will be passing between the Earth and the Sun as seen from the Earth, called inferior conjunction. Planets that orbit inside of the orbit of Earth can have two types of conjunctions with the Sun, inferior (when passing between the Earth and the Sun) and superior (when passing on the far side of the Sun as seen from the Earth). Mercury will be shifting from the evening sky to the morning sky and will begin emerging from the glow of the dawn on the eastern horizon by mid-November (depending upon viewing conditions).

The full Moon after next will be Tuesday morning, November 12, 2019, at 8:34 AM EST.