Look Up in the Maine Skies Tonight

The skies over Maine will be LIT UP tonight as we are about to experience this year's biggest and brightest supermoon. The Hunter's Moon.

The Hunter's Moon will officially be a full moon here in Maine at 7:26am on Thursday, but at 8:48pm tonight (Wednesday), it will arrive at perigee (it's closest point to Earth). At that moment, the moon will achieve full supermoon status and appear to be 14% larger than usual! Watch out for those werewolves ... and those humans that always seem to forget how to act in public when it's a full moon AND HOW TO DRIVE!

Why Is It Called The Hunter's Moon?

It's pretty self-explanatory and you can probably guess as to why. You also may already know as this beautiful state of Maine is full of hunters, but here is an explanation from LiveScience.com.

The most popular name for October's full moon is the Hunter's Moon because its appearance was once a signal for hunters to prepare for the upcoming winter, according to Almanac.com. That name has Anglo-Saxon origins, according to Timeanddate.com, though it's also been called the Falling Leaves Moon and the Blood Moon. (The latter name should not be confused with a total lunar eclipse, which is often given the same name due to the moon's reddish hue when obscured by Earth's shadow.)

What Makes a Full Moon a Supermoon?

The best explanation that I found comes from space.com and Dr. Fred Espenak, a retired NASA astrophysicist and eclipse expert, defines a supermoon as a full moon that occurs when the moon is within 90 percent of its closest approach to Earth. Dr. Espenak has compiled a list of all the supermoons (including those that fall under the 90 percent category) occurring during the 21st century.

Be sure to look up over the horizon tonight!