How to catch the Hunter's Moon this weekend — and maybe Saturn, too

ATLANTA — October's full moon will grace the sky this weekend — and those with a keen eye may also catch a glimpse of Saturn.

Just a month after the fall equinox, the full moon will rise particularly early, becoming visible at sunset and reaching peak illumination at 12:12 a.m. ET on Monday, October 26, according to EarthSky. As night falls on Sunday, Saturn will also appear gold and sit just a few degrees south of the moon.

The orb may look more orange as it hangs lower on the horizon. This position causes the moonlight to pass through a denser layer of air, shortening blue and violet wavelengths and making the orange and red ones stand out — similar to a sunset.

Named the Hunter's Moon, Native Americans traditionally took advantage of the bright moonlight to hunt for active wildlife and prepare food for the winter. October's full moon follows September's Harvest Moon, which marked when farmers would typically harvest their crops.

"These names were assigned to the moon because the moon has a meaning," said Noah Petro, chief of NASA's Planetary Geology, Geophysics and Geochemistry Lab at Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland. "I'd encourage folks, while they're looking at the moon, to ask, 'What does this time of year mean to me?' Everyone should have a personal connection."

Other monikers for the Hunter's Moon are similarly rooted in seasonal traditions. Indigenous tribes adopted names including the drying rice moon, the falling leaves moon and the migrating moon. Some groups also referred to it as the Blood Moon, a nod to its orange-red hue.

The full moon will appear its usual silvery color over the next several months, but viewers who look closely will notice the moon's face shifting as it rotates, said Petro, who is also a project scientist for the Artemis III mission. The moon owes its varying gradation to differences in surface composition and age — something Petro's team plans to explore in the Artemis mission slated for June 2027.

"When you see color differences on the moon, that's telling you that something has already happened there — either the rocks are made of something different, or it's a younger or older surface," Petro said. "It tells you about the geological history."

Scoring the best view

For optimal sky-gazing, Petro suggested finding a place free of obstruction from trees or buildings, such as a large field. He added that cold winter nights can make it easier to see the moon, because heat generates turbulence in the atmosphere and makes the sky hazy.

"The beauty of the moon is that you don't need to have the most impressive telescope," Petro said. "You need two things: clear eyes and clear skies. And with that, you can fall in love with the moon."

If the sky isn't clear Sunday night, the moon will appear full on Monday as well.

The Hunter's Moon comes at the end of a several-day period of the orb approaching and passing Saturn. The ringed planet may be difficult to spot because of the moon's luminescence.

Sky-gazing opportunities aren't over after this weekend's dual visual treat. From Monday to Wednesday, the moon will approach, eclipse and pass the Pleiades star cluster, also known as the Seven Sisters. Appearing to the unaided eye as a fuzzy collection of six to seven stars, the Pleiades is among the most well-known celestial clusters across the world.

Upcoming supermoons to look for

The Hunter's Moon marks 11 out of 13 full moons in 2026. The final two are both supermoons, meaning the satellite will appear brighter and larger because it is closest to Earth in its orbit.

• November 24: Beaver Moon
• December 23: Cold Moon

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