The Blood Moon

October's full moon and partial lunar eclipse

Venice, Moonlight, by Christopher Williams, 1925

This month’s full moon falls on the 28th October at 9.24pm.

There will be a partial lunar eclipse. Only a part of the moon will fall into the earth’s shadow and so the effect will be subtle but it will be worth looking out for between 8.30pm and 9.50pm and will be at its maximum extent at 9.15pm.

There are a couple of old names for October’s full moon: Blood Moon and Hunter’s Moon. As gruesome as they sound these names are as tied to the agricultural year as the Harvest Moon is - these moon names very often refer to big agricultural jobs that would have benefitted from the extra few hours light afforded by a full moon. Late October and into November was the time when many people would slaughter at least some of their livestock, to create a store of meat for the winter, and because it was difficult and expensive to keep and feed animals over winter, and Blood Moon likely references this work. This is also the beginning of hunting season and the light of the full moon would have combined with the falling away of the leaves to create good hunting conditions, hence Hunter’s Moon.

Wishing you clear skies!