Hunter's supermoon: when to see the brightest full moon of 2024

If you catch a glimpse of the full moon in the next couple of nights, you might notice how bright it is.

This month's full moon, called the Hunter's Moon, is also a supermoon and happens to be the brightest of the year.

It is the third of four supermoons in 2024.

The peak of the full moon on Thursday afternoon is when it is below the horizon in the UK, though in the evening and coming nights it will still look bright and mostly full.

Why is it called the Hunter's Moon?

Each month our full moons are given names that refer to what might be happening in nature at that time.

October's full moon is known as the Hunter's Moon as it is the time of year when leaves start to fall and animals have plumped up over the summer, ready for winter.

Ancient communities would therefore increase hunting at this time of year.

The next full moon on 15 November is the Beaver Moon as it is linked to the time that beavers start to take shelter in their lodges ahead of winter.

This will also happen to be a supermoon.

What is a supermoon?

There have already been two supermoons this year - August's Blue Moon and September's Harvest Moon.

This Hunter's Moon will be the third of fourth in the year and will be the brightest.

The Moon's orbit around Earth is elliptical which means there are times when it is further away - apogee - and times when it is closer - perigee.

On Wednesday night the Moon was at perigee, around 222,055 miles (357,363km) away.

By comparison, at apogee the Moon is 252,088 miles (405,696 km) away from Earth.

The Hunter's supermoon will therefore appear around 14% brighter and 30% bigger than other full moons.

It will appear even bigger and brighter - perhaps with a reddish tinge - as it rises or falls near the horizon.

This is down to the "Moon illusion" which tricks the eye into thinking the Moon is larger when we see it with a foreground of buildings, trees or hills.

Photographers using a long lens will also give the illusion of a larger Moon.

What is the forecast?

The full Hunter's supermoon will be rising in the UK around 18:00 BST in the eastern sky.

The good news is that there will be lots of clear skies right across the UK on Thursday night to see it, although it will perhaps be a little cloudier with some showers in western Scotland to start.

By the early hours of Friday morning, however, there will be some large areas of mist and fog patches forming just about anywhere across the UK.