WEEKEND MOON

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Take a close look at the Hunter's Moon because it comes once a year and is always the next full moon after Autumn's Harvest Moon

The name comes from the Algonquin Native American tribe, says The Old Farmer's Almanac, and reminds us that traditionally in many cultures this is the time to hunt and store up meat for the long Winter.

In October, the Hunter's Moon can sometimes fall in November on rare occasions. That's because, like the Harvest Moon, its date is determined by the autumn equinox, one of the two times of the year when the sun aligns with Earth's equator. The Harvest Moon is the full moon closest to the fall Equinox, and the Hunter's Moon follows.

October's moon might also be called the Falling Leaves Moon, the Drying Rice Moon, or the Freezing or Ice Moon. Another name, the Migrating or Travel Moon, is thought to nod to the seasonal southern migration of animals and birds but, according to NASA, may also refer to northern Native American tribes leaving mountainous areas ahead of the cold winter.

https://spaceplace.nasa.gov/all-about-the-moon/en/

For us humans the Moon has been an important source of inspiration and knowledge, having been crucial to cosmography, mythology, religion, art, timekeepingnatural science, and spaceflight. On September 13, 1959, the first human-made object to reach an extraterrestrial body arrived on the Moon, the Soviet Union's Luna 2 impactor. In 1966 the Moon became the first extraterrestrial body where soft landings and orbital insertions were achieved. On July 20, 1969, humans for the first time landed on the Moon and any extraterrestrial body, at Mare Tranquillitatis with the lander Eagle of the United StatesApollo 11 mission. Five more crews were sent between then and 1972, each with two men landing on the surface. The longest stay was 75 hours by the Apollo 17 crew. Thereafter exploration of the Moon has continued robotically, with crewed missions being planned to return starting in the late 2020s.

Finally, John Fogerty based this 1969 song on the 40s film of the story The Devil & Daniel Webster, but the tune is now forever linked in our minds with David Naughton turning into a wolf in the landmark transformation scene from An American Werewolf In London (1981)   https://youtu.be/zUQiUFZ5RDw?si=fs29XmIqntdNKoCq

 

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