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Full Hunter’s Moon/Super Moon.

Oct 16, 2016

October 15, 2016 – the Northern Hemisphere’s full Hunter’s Moon ushers in the first of this year’s three full-moon Super Moons. It’s a full moon near perigee, or the moon’s closest point to Earth for the month. Modern sky lore dubs this sort of moon a Super Moon, and this year, in 2016, the full moons of October, November and December all come close enough to earth to qualify as Super Moons.
 
Image at top shows a micro-moon (smallest full moon) superimposed on Super Moon (largest full moon). This image – an Astronomy Picture of the Day – is from Stefano Sciarpetti. The size difference of year’s largest and smallest full moons is comparable to that of a U.S. quarter and a U.S. nickel.
 
But will your eye see that the moon is bigger on the night of August 29? Well … it depends. This year’s smallest full moon, often called a micro-moon, happened on April 22, 2016. Since then, each following full moon came incrementally closer to Earth. The seventh full moon after the micro-moon of Spril 22, 2016, will present the closest and larger full moon of the year on November 14, 2016. So there is no stark difference in the size of the full moon from month to month.
 
There’s another complication to consider. Tonight’s moon may appear especially large when it’s close to the eastern horizon after sunset October 15 – or when it’s close to the western horizon before sunrise tomorrow, on October 16. Yet, the moon is actually closer to you when it climbs highest up around your local midnight, or midway between sunset and sunrise – although the moon may not actually appear closer to your eye. This is known as the moon illusion.
 
The ancients were well aware of the moon’s changing angular diameter and its varying distance from Earth. That’s because ancient astronomers used a diopter to directly measure the moon’s apparent diameter.
 
Are you an incredibly careful observer? Have you watched the full moon over a period of months, leading up to now? If so, says Daniel Fischer in Königswinter, Germany, you can discern the extra-large size of the Super Moon using just your eye.
The closest and largest full Super Moon of the year will fall on November 14, 2016, to showcase the largest full moon thus far in the 21st century (2001 to 2100). This will be the closest encounter between the Earth and moon until November 25, 2034.
 
In the Northern Hemisphere, we call the full moon immediately following the Harvest Moon the Hunter’s Moon. Like the Harvest Moon, the Hunter’s Moon is known delivering several days of dusk till dawn moonlight. Any full moon rises in the east at the vicinity of sunset, and on the average, rises some 50 minutes later each following day. However, at northerly latitudes in the Northern Hemisphere, the lag time between the full Hunter’s Moon and successive moonrises is less than the average 50 minutes later daily. Therefore, the several days following the full Harvest Moon finds a shorter period of time between sunset and moonrise than at other seasons of the year.
 
Details on the October 2016 full Super Moon The full moon falls at the same instant all over the world: October 16 at 4:23 Universal Time.
 
Clock time for this full moon – and every full moon – varies by time zone. For London, the moon turns full at 5:23 a.m. BST on October 16, at which time the moon shines in their western sky. For the U.S., the moon turns full on October 16 at 12:23 a.m. EDT – yet on October 15 at 11:23 p.m. CDT, 10:23 p.m. MDT and 9:23 p.m. PDT.
 
Technically speaking, the moon turns full at the instant that the moon lies opposite the sun for the month in ecliptic longitude. Because the moon stays more or less opposite the sun throughout the night, watch for a full-looking moon in the east at dusk, highest in the sky around midnight and low in the west at dawn. On the nights immediately before and after full moon, the moon still looks plenty full to the eye.
 
When is perigee, the moon’s closest point to Earth? In October 2016, the moon’s perigee comes about 19 hours after full moon, on October 16 at 23:36 Universal Time.
 
The close coincidence of full moon and perigee makes this October full moon a Super Moon.
 
By the way, no particular effects are expected from this extra-close full moon … unless you have the mass of an ocean! In that case, gravity will come into play. In other words, because it’s a Super Moon, and relatively close to Earth, this month’s full moon will pull harder than usual on Earth’s oceans. Expect higher-than-usual tides to follow this full moon by a day or so.
 
Bottom line: The full moon on the night of October 15-16 ushers in the first of three full-moon Super Moons in 2016. Full moon is October 16, 2016, at 4:23 Universal Time. The moon’s perigee or closest point comes on October 16, at 23:36 Universal Time.
 
Image:  Day and night sides of Earth at the instant of the October 2016 full moon (2016 October 16 at 4:23 Universal Time). - EarthSky.com
 



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