October’s Hunter’s Moon and the Draconid meteor shower are set to light up Irish skies this weekend

The next few nights are shaping up to be quite the exciting spectacle for the stargazers among us! The first full moon of October — known as the Hunter’s Moon — will rise in the east at 6.28pm on Sunday, while the Draconid meteor shower is set to peak on Saturday afternoon, and remain visible until Monday, 10 October.

The first full moon since the Harvest Moon on Friday, 9 September, the Hunter’s Moon will rise in the east at 6:28pm, and be visible from shortly after the sun sets at 6.20pm. The full Hunter’s Moon will then set in the west at 7:43am the following morning.

According to The Farmer’s Almanac, we call it the Hunter’s Moon because it represents a period of time where late autumn days were spent preparing food and fuel for the winter, which included making sure there was plenty of meat through the hunting of game.

The Hunter’s Moon comes while the sun is in Libra, a time during which no decision should be made lightly. Given that the full moon is in Aries, it is said that we should utilise this weekend for deep consideration, courageous spirit, and making choices that align with our values.

Fully illuminated with an orange hue, it seems incredibly fitting that the moon will appear as a giant floating pumpkin overhead as Halloween draws closer. The next full moon of 2022 won’t be until November’s Beaver Moon, which is set to rise on Tuesday, 8 November.

The Draconid meteor shower — also known as the Giacobinids — will peak at around 2pm in the afternoon of Saturday 8 October, and will be seen most clearly just after sunset at a maximum rate of 10 meteors per hour. Taking its name from the constellation of Draco the dragon, the Draconid meteor shower takes place every year and is one of two meteor showers set to light up the sky this month.

The second meteor shower of the month is the Orionids, which will take place on Friday, 21 October.