Hunter's moon, this week's supermoon, will be biggest, brightest of the year

Get your cameras ready. This week's full moon, known as the Hunter's moon, is not just a supermoon. It will be the biggest and the brightest one this year.

A so-called "supermoon" happens when a moon turns full as it's close to Earth in its current orbit, called "perigee." We've had two of those already, in August and September , but this time, it's going to happen when the moon is as close to us in its orbit as it gets.

The result? A big beautiful moon that can appear "up to 14% bigger and 30% percent brighter than the faintest moon of the year," according to NASA .

Note that we can also expect "unusually high and low tides later this week into the start of the weekend," Joe Rao of Space.com said , which could be an issue for coastal areas and regions threatened by high rivers still flooded by Hurricane Milton last week.

When should I look for the Hunter's moon supermoon?

The moon officially turns full Thursday morning at 7:26 a.m. EDT, but it will arrive at its closest point to Earth — 221,938 miles, Rao said — Wednesday night at 8: 48 p.m. That's when it will "look" the biggest, although the difference is barely perceptible to the human eye.

While the moon at perigee doesn't look that different from a "regular" moon, when a supermoon is close to the horizon it can look massive. Every full moon seems to look larger at that point and no one knows why for sure , although the current best explanations are that when it's close to buildings and the landscape your mind unconsciously assigns it a dimension comparable to other nearby objects but when it's higher, you see it in relation to other celestial objects.

What is a supermoon?

The moon travels around the Earth in an oval-shaped orbit, called an ellipse. When a full moon coincides with the point in the moon's orbit that's the closest to the Earth, it's called a supermoon. There are usually only three or four supermoons a year.

The name "supermoon" was coined by an astrologer in 1979, NASA said. Astronomers call it a perigean full moon.

What is the Hunter's moon?

According to the Farmers Almanac , October's full moon was traditionally called the Hunter's Moon because it was a signal for hunters to start hunting in preparation for the upcoming cold winter when game animals were also fattening up.

The Hunter's moon was also called the Sanguine or Blood Moon, the Almanac said, "either associated with the blood from hunting or the color of the changing autumn leaves."

Why do all the full moons have names?

Many cultures gave full moons at specific times of the year names to help keep track of the calendar, planting and harvesting times, and other important dates. Traditionally, the full moon name referred to the entire lunar month when it happened, not just to the moon, according to the Farmers Almanac.

Most of the full moon names we're familiar with come from Native American, Colonial American, and European sources.

Photo tips: How can you take a picture of the supermoon?

The best times to shoot a supermoon picture are at moonrise and moonset, at the golden hours of dawn and dusk when the moon will look its largest and will often have a soft golden glow.

But it's still a couple hundred thousand miles away. You're going to want a zoom lens, not to mention a plan and a tripod or some way to brace your camera to eliminate any movement.

Think about how to frame it. While closeup images are often gorgeous, working the rising or setting moon into the surrounding landscape or cityscape can result in some dramatic images.

Want more tips? We've got more suggestions for a great photo.

When is the next supermoon in 2024?

The fourth and last supermoon of 2024 is the Beaver moon on Nov.15, 2024, at 4:29 p.m. ET.

This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Hunter's moon, this week's supermoon, will be biggest, brightest of the year