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rise - for several days in a row, around the time of full moon - that gives the Hunter's Moon its magic.
• These more northerly moonrises assure us of earlier-than-usual moonrises around the time of full moon. On average, the moon rises 50 minutes later daily. But at mid-northern latitudes around now, the moon is rising about 30 to 35 minutes later. And farther north, the effect is even more pronounced. For instance, at latitudes close to the Arctic Circle - like at Fairbanks, Alaska - the moon actually rises around 15 to 20 minutes later for several days in a row.
• Meanwhile, in the months of September, October and November as seen from the Southern Hemisphere, it's springtime. In the spring, there is a particularly long time between successive moonrises, around the time of full moon.
• Before the advent of electricity, our ancestors knew how to plan nocturnal activity around the full Hunter's Moon. If you live sufficiently north on the globe, you can count on tonight's Hunter's Moon to bring early evening-till-dawn moonlight for the next several nights!
• As autumn full moons, the Harvest and Hunter's Moons show this seasonal effect, though to a lesser extent than usual around now due to an effect known as minor lunar standstill.
• Bottom line: The 2012 Hunter's Moon takes place on October 29, 2012. In skylore, the Hunter's Moon is the full moon after the Harvest Moon, which is the full moon closest to the September equinox. It's characterized by a shorter-than-usual time between moonrises for several nights in a row around full moon. And you can see that, at each successive moonrise, the moon appears farther north on the horizon.
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