It’s Halloween and although the scariest holiday is always special for those who enjoy costume, trick-or-treating, or even just a marathon of horror movies and other broadcast content that the season provides, this year’s Halloween is a lot more special than usual. A rare rare moon will appear in the night sky on Halloween night – something that won’t happen again until Halloween 2039 – but more than that, there are a variety of other factors to this full moon that make it special and perfect, really spooky as well.
In general, a full moon visible in the United States on Halloween is rare in and of itself, but tonight’s full moon will be visible almost universally. to me excitement, Australia and New Zealand will only lose this full moon by calendar – it will be November 1 for both countries when they see a full moon. Tonight’s full moon is also (for most of the world) the second full moon of October, which is called a blue moon even though the moon’s actual color is not blue.
But a full moon in Halloween is rare for another reason. This moon will also be something called a little moon. This means that a full moon is the one that occurs at the point farthest from Earth in its orbit. This position makes the full moon tonight the smallest of the year. An unusual moon that is seen almost universally on Halloween and is also the second full moon of October and the little moon of the year? That’s a lot of unusual, which sounds odd on-trend for 2020 albeit in a good way.
Of course, the moon wouldn’t be the only thing special in the sky on Halloween night. Those looking while tricked, treated, or safely celebrated their holiday in a safe way thanks to COVID-19 will be treated to some other fascinating cosmic scenes. Mars is currently closer to Earth than it will be for another 15 years, and as a result, it is slightly larger in the sky and brighter than usual – and a little red too.
Are you going to have some star gazing tonight? Are you planning to dress up for Halloween or will you enjoy spooky movies and entertainment instead of going out to celebrate in other ways? Let us know your Halloween holiday plans in the comments!
Photography by Owen Humphries / PA Images via Getty Images
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