By Tiffany Jeung of inverse.com on October 22, 2018

If you’ve got some spooky ideas planned these next few nights, you won’t need a flashlight, thanks to the upcoming appearance of the Hunter’s Moon in the Northern Hemisphere. This full moon will officially claim a spot opposite the Sun this at 12:45 p.m. Eastern on Wednesday, shining for about three days in total, from Tuesday to Thursday.

As the name suggests, the Hunter’s moon indicates that it’s prime time to not only collect crops, but also bust out a bow and arrow and go hunting, according to the Farmer’s Almanac. (The full moon provides great lighting). The Hunter’s moon, first referenced by the Oxford English Dictionary in 1710, is also called a sanguine or blood moon, for the vibrant color of fall leaves — not to be mixed up with the scientific phenomena of a blood moon. This moon follows the Harvest Moon, the full moon that falls closest to the autumn equinox.

Although the brightness of the Hunter’s moon doesn’t differ from other full moons, it does have its loony quirks. Usually, a moon rises 50 minutes later each day, but the Hunter’s moon rises about 30 minutes later each night of its cycle. The fact that sunset and moonrise are close leaves extra light in the sky, giving farmers and hunters more time to prepare for the impending winter — and for feasts.

This week, Halley’s comet will also be dusting the night sky with its debris in the form of the Orionid meteor shower, although this year moonlight may make visibility difficult. The shower will continue through November 7, 2018.

For those in the Southern Hemisphere, the Harvest and Hunter’s moon orients around the March equinox. But for those in the Northern Hemisphere, starting from sunset, a few nights of excellent moon-gazing lie ahead.

To see the original article and read more science related stories, follow this link to the inverse.com website.  https://www.inverse.com/article/50100-when-is-hunters-moon-2018