Beyond the Horizon
By Pradeep Kumar
Pictures in social media claiming recently the lunar event called ‘Hunter’s Moon’ or ‘Jaeger Moon’ which showed two Suns in the sky due to illusion. Such claim is due to Moon being at a specific angle in relation to the Sun reflects the sun’s light, giving the appearance of two Suns in the sky. However, claiming two Suns are false.
Astronomy: If you’re in the Northern Hemisphere, look for the moon to be bright and full-looking for several nights beginning around October 23 or 24. Around all of these nights, you’ll see a bright round moon in your sky, rising around the time of sunset, highest in the middle of the night.
In autumn, the angle of the ecliptic – or sun and moon’s path – makes a narrow angle with the horizon. The narrow angle of the ecliptic, means the moon rises noticeably farther north on the horizon from one night to the next. So there is no long period of darkness between sunset and moonrise, and, around the time of full moon, many people see the moon in a twilight sky. (Pic: ClassicalAstronomy.com)
Significance of name: The full Hunter’s Moon will rise on Wednesday night, lighting up the sky all night long around the globe, writes AccuWeather meteorologist By Brian Lana.
Every full moon is given a name based on the month in which it falls. These names are the same every year with October’s full moon known as the ‘Hunter’s Moon’. Despite its unique name, the Hunter’s Moon will not appear much different from other full moons throughout the year, becoming officially full at 12:45 p.m. Wednesday and continuing to appear full throughout Wednesday night.
“The Algonquin Native American tribes referred to October’s moon as the full Hunter’s Moon because [it signaled the] time to go hunting in preparation for winter,” the Old Farmer’s Almanac said.
“Since the harvesters have reaped the fields, hunters can easily see the fattened deer and other animals that have come out to glean (and the foxes that have come out to prey on them).”
This is just one of many names given to October’s full moon over the centuries by cultures all around the world.
October Fill Moon means:
Across southeastern Asia, October typically marks the end of the monsoon and has influenced the nickname for the month’s full moon.
“For Hindus, this full moon is Sharad Purnima, a harvest festival marking the end of the rains. For Buddhists, this full moon is Pavarana, the end of Vassa (sometimes given the English names ‘Rains Retreat’ or ‘Buddhist Lent’), the three-month period of fasting for Buddhist monks tied to the monsoons,” the Old Farmer’s Almanac said.
Occasionally, October’s full moon can also be the famed Harvest Moon, the name given to the full moon closest to the fall equinox; however, in 2018, the Harvest Moon fell on Sept. 24, just days after the autumnal equinox.
Today, at the border of the USA and Canada, the sunrise was like this. Apparently appeared 2 Suns, one was the real sun and the other, the moon.This phenomenon is known as the ‘Jaeger Moon’ and happens when the earth moves. The Moon and the Sun go up at the same time and the moon reflects the sunlight with such great haze that it seems like a second sun.
Hunters Moon: The full moon that appears in October is called the ‘Hunters Moon’. The first moon after the ‘Harvest Moon’ is the ‘Hunters Moon’, so named as the preferred month to hunt summer-fattened deer and fox unable to hide in now bare fields. Like the ‘Harvest Moon’, the ‘Hunters Moon’ is also particularly bright and long in the sky, giving hunters the opportunity to stalk prey at night. Probably because of the threat of winter looming close, the Hunters Moon is generally accorded with special honor, historically serving as an important feast day in both Western Europe and among many Native American tribes. Note that some years the Harvest Moon falls in October instead of September.
The ‘Hunters Moon’ of October is sometimes referred to as the Blood Moon or Sanguine Moon, as the Native Americans named this bright moon for obvious reasons. Other names for this full moon include Travel Moon and the Dying Grass Moon.
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