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    • Hunter’s Moon, this year’s largest supermoon, will dazzle the night sky in Massachusetts and around the world
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    Hunter’s Moon, this year’s largest supermoon, will dazzle the night sky in Massachusetts and around the world

    Vaseline Posted on

    OOn Wednesday evening, Michael Wallitis stood in the parking lot of a shopping center in Orange, Massachusetts, scanning the western horizon for the ancient comet. At that moment, his man pointed out something equally remarkable in the opposite direction: the radiant glow of the supermoon.

    “It was beautiful,” Wallitis said. “So bright and so big! Within seconds he rose above the trees and I am grateful that I was not only able to experience this moment, but also to preserve its memory.”

    With the rare Northern Lights illuminating the Northeast in early October and the unique comet closing out the month, stargazers had another astronomical phenomenon to keep their eyes peeled for this week.

    Completing this month’s celestial trifecta is the supermoon known as ‘Hunter’s Moon’.

    A supermoon seen from Orange, MA on October 17.Michael Wallitis

    According to NASA, the Hunter’s Moon is the third of four consecutive supermoons this year. It follows the Harvest Moon in September and the Sturgeon Moon, which was also a blue moon, in August.

    Arriving at perigee (the point the moon is closest to Earth in its orbit), the supermoon came within just 220,000 miles of our planet, making it the largest and brightest this year, according to The Old Farmer’s Almanac.

    The moon shines in the evening sky over Lietzen, Germany, Wednesday, October 16, 2024. (Patrick Pleul/dpa via AP)Patrick Pleul/Associated Press

    The supermoon reached its zenith at 7:26 a.m. Thursday morning and was closest to Earth in its orbit Wednesday evening at 8:57 p.m., NASA said. For those who didn’t get a chance to see it at its maximum brightness or size, the moon will still appear full throughout Friday morning.

    So, how “super” is a supermoon? According to NASA, a supermoon can appear 14 percent larger and 30 percent brighter than a regular full moon. Supermoons also only occur three to four times a year and always appear consecutively.

    The moon passes under downtown buildings on Thursday, Oct. 17, 2024, in Kansas City, Missouri (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)Charlie Riedel/Associated Press

    According to the Farmer’s Almanac, this month’s supermoon was dubbed the “Hunter’s Moon” because it was once considered a signal to begin hunting in preparation for winter. Other names for the supermoon include the Travel, Dying Grass, Sanguine or Blood Moon, according to NASA.

    The fourth and final supermoon of the year, called the Beaver Moon, will appear on November 15 at 4:29 p.m., according to the Farmer’s Almanac.

    Sabrina Lam can be reached at [email protected].

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