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and in 2015 it will fall on October 27. We give the moonrise and sunrise times for the night of the full Hunter's Moon and the three nights following for Seattle, Washington and Anchorage, Alaska.
• In the year 2005, the moon was at a high orbital inclination of 28.5o and in the year 2015 it'll be at a low orbital inclination of 18.5o. In October 2012, the orbital inclination measures 21o.
• More about autumn moonrises. On the average, the moon rises some 50 minutes later each day. Any full moon rises around the time of sunset. But autumn full moons are now rising shortly after sunset for several evenings in a row. The time between successive moonrises - from one day to the next - is closer to 30 minutes from middle latitudes around the September and October full moons. The higher the latitude (in other words, the closer to a pole), the more pronounced the effect, and the less time between successive autumn moonrises, on the days around full moon. In fact, at far northerly (or southerly) latitudes, it's even possible for an autumn moon to rise earlier than it did the day before. (See the table above for Anchorage, Alaska)
• Bottom line: The October 30, 2012 moon is near the dipper-shaped Pleiades star cluster. Later at night, Jupiter will rise near the moon as well. In 2012, the October full moon came on October 29 and carried the name Hunter's Moon in the Northern Hemisphere. This is the full moon after the Harvest Moon, which is the full moon closest to the autumnal equinox. In the Southern Hemisphere, Harvest and Hunter's Moons come in March, April and May. Autumn full moon are distinctive for their rising time - which is unusually short from one day to the next. But an effect known as a lunar standstill tempers this seasonal phenomenon.
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