With the autumn harvest safely stowed away, many people in bygone centuries turned their attention to hunting. And just as the Harvest Moon helped them bring in the crops, the Hunter’s Moon helped them find game. The moonlight made it easier to track animals through the empty fields and beyond.

Although most present-day Americans don’t have to worry about storing food for the winter, we still keep the names for those full Moons. We had the Harvest Moon last month. And tonight, it’s time for the Hunter’s Moon.

The names for both of these full Moons come mainly from parts of Europe and the British Isles. The names were recorded as far back as the early 1700s, but they’d probably been in everyday use for much longer. Variations of the “Hunter’s Moon” label were used by several native tribes and nations in the Americas as well.

The Harvest Moon is usually defined as the full Moon closest to the autumn equinox. Most years, that puts it in September. But this year, October’s full Moon edged out September by just a few hours. So the Hunter’s Moon got bumped into November.

Officially, the Moon will be full at 7:19 a.m. Central Standard Time tomorrow. So it will appear almost as “full” when it rises tomorrow night as it does tonight – extra time to appreciate the brilliant glow of the Hunter’s Moon.

Tomorrow: A giant black hole at the center of a little red dot.

Script by Damond Benningfield