Full Moon

The Moon will reach full phase – the second full moon of autumn 2013, traditionally called the Hunter’s Moon in the English-speaking world.

As at any time when the Moon reaches full phase, it will be brighter than at any other time of the month, and will also be visible for much of the night on account of lying almost directly opposite the Sun in the sky.

Over the nights following 17 November, the Moon will rise a little under an hour later each day so as to become prominent later in the night. Within a few days, it will only be visible in the pre-dawn and early-morning sky. By the time it reaches last quarter, around a week after full moon, it will rise at around midnight and set at around noon.

At the moment when the Moon reaches full phase, it will lie at a declination of +17°31′ in the constellation Taurus, and so will appear highest in the northern hemisphere. It will be visible from all latitudes south of 62°S. Its distance from the Earth will be 396,000 km.