A bright full moon rose in 2017 at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
NASA / Kim Shifflet
Take a break from the chaos of the world on Friday night and proceed to see the almost full moon. Night time is magnificently visible in all parts of the U.S., says Jeffrey Hunt, weather permitting, astronomy educator and former planetarium director. This full moon is thrillingly called the “harvest moon” because it is near the beginning of the full moon fall.
“The moon is full only for one night (Oct. Oct. 1), although it seems full on the night before and after the official full phase.” “Before and after, it’s 98 percent full.”
The harvest moon won’t appear full after Friday night, but it’s just a preview of the second full moon of the month, which happens on Halloween. That full moon is called the blue moon, because it is the second full moon of the same month. And in a rare treat, the 2020 Halloween full moon will appear to the whole world for the first time since World War II, instead of parts of it.
“When I was teaching my high school students thought the full moon would come on every Halloween,” Hunt told me. Not quite, however, the decor of the culture ensures that it looks like this. The last Halloween full moon to be seen around the world came in 1944, he said. He wrote about the incident on his web site, while Curves lined up. Halloween was a full moon for some places in 1955, but that doesn’t include western North America and the western Pacific, Hunt says.
While this year the Halloween full moon will appear in all parts of the world, that doesn’t mean every citizen will have a point of view. Residents from both North America and South America will also see it in most countries in India, Europe and Asia. But when Western Austral Australians see it, it will not come to the central and eastern parts of the country.
Know the time zone well? “Each time zone has a pre-(GMT) +8 time zone, if they have daylight time or (GMT) +9,” says Hunt.
Want to see Halloween full moon? It’s so bright on the whole stage that it doesn’t matter if you’re in a crowded city or on a farm. And you don’t need expensive equipment.
“Walk out, and take a look,” Hunt says.
Don’t be surprised if you take a Halloween Moon shot with your phone and the photo doesn’t match what you saw.
“The results can be disappointing when the moon is photographed with a smartphone,” Hunt admits. “A telephoto connection will help make the moon wider.”
If you’re too busy watching horror movies (or doing whatever the same coronavirus of trick-or-treating), you’ll have to wait until 2039 for another global full moon.
“Of course, in the intervening years there is a full moon in October, not just on Halloween,” Hunt says. And before that Halloween full moon may appear in your area. It just won’t show up around the world.
Fantastic Halloween horror movies and TV shows you might have overlooked
See all photos
