The October full moon â also known as harvest moon âoffers a resplendent astronomical view of the moon as it sits at its closest position to our planet.
It will be hard to miss if it is not a cloudy evening.
This spectacular harvest moon will rise high in the eastern skies just after sunset on the east coast.
The sun will set today at 7.02pm AEDT.
“The moon is going to be really nice and bright, so everyone should be able to see it so long as the sky is clear. It doesn’t matter if you’re out in the bush or in the city, we’ll all get a great view,” she said.
“The full moon is so bright that it makes it hard to do any other stargazing. So it’s the perfect time to see the moon, but not much else in the night sky.
“It’s the ultimate, night-time, natural light pollution.”
But if you’re busy tonight and will miss the harvest moon in all its glory, don’t fret.
The harvest moon will also be visible tomorrow night (October 8), but it won’t be as full.
According to Sky At Night magazine, the harvest moon is also unique this month because it rises each evening at the exact same time.
It’s also the closest full moon to the September equinox.
This harvest moon will also be a supermoon, which is when the moon is closest to the earth in its orbit.
“It is technically a ‘supermoon’, though that’s not an astronomical term,” Driessen added.
“The Moon’s orbit around Earth is slightly oval/elliptical instead of being perfectly round.
“That means that on one side of it’s orbit, the moon is closer to the Earth than the other.”
It will be the first of three supermoons we will see for the rest of this year.
On November 4, the ‘Beaver’ supermoon will make an appearance.
And on December 4, the ‘Cold’ moon will arrive in the nightsky.
