October Full Moon 2018: Hunter's Moon Swings by Uranus

[Judi Lynn]

By Jesse Emspak, Space.com Contributor | October 4, 2018 04:00pm ET

The full moon of October, called the Hunter's Moon, will grace the skies Oct. 24, making a close pass by Uranus — though the faint planet will be difficult to see against the lunar glare.

The moon becomes officially full on Oct. 24 at 11:45 a.m. EDT (1545 GMT), according to NASA's SkyCal. For observers in New York City, the near-full moon will rise on that day at 6:30 p.m. local time and set the next morning at 8:02 a.m., according to the U.S. Naval Observatory (USNO). The moon will be in the constellation Cetus and will rise about 28 minutes after sunset (which will happen at 6:02 p.m., per the USNO).

The close pass to Uranus will happen a day after that planet reaches opposition on Oct. 23. Opposition is when the Earth is directly between an outer planet and the sun. At that point, the planet (Uranus, in this case) and the sun appear to be on the exact opposite sides of the sky. During oppositions, planets are at their brightest and easiest to observe, because they are above the horizon all night long in most locations. [How to See Planet Uranus in the Night Sky]

On Oct. 24, Uranus will rise at 5:58 p.m. in New York City, according to heavens-above.com calculations, just 4 minutes before the moon does. At magnitude 5.7, Uranus is faint, but just visible with the naked eye in a dark-sky location. However, with the full moon close by — less than 8 degrees at the closest — Uranus will be washed out to naked-eye observers. Catching Uranus will be easier as the moon wanes in the following days.

More:
https://www.space.com/38272-october-full-moon.html

In October, hunt for the moon, hunt for Uranus, do NOT hunt for the few remaining animals. Thank you.