The full Moon on 6/7 October 2025 will be this year's Hunter's Moon, Harvest Moon and a supermoon.
It will also be close to Saturn in the night sky, making for a beautiful naked-eye spectacle of Moon and planet.
And on 10 October, the Moon will be close to the beautiful blue Pleiades open star cluster, making for a wonderful stargazing spectacle and photo opportunity.
The 6/7 October 'Super Hunter's Moon' reaches peak illumination at 03:47 UTC on 7 October and will rise at around 17:20 UTC.
This means the October full Moon will occur before midnight on 6 October, if you're based in North and South America.
In this guide we'll reveal all you need to know about the event and how to make the most of it.
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Hunter's Moon explained
Why is this full Moon called the 'Hunter's Moon', and what will it look like?
Each full Moon of the year has attained an informal nickname. You'll hear talk of a Wolf Moon, a Snow Moon, a Worm Moon or a Flower Moon, for example.
In reality, these are just that: nicknames. They don't indicate that a particular full Moon will look any different, and instead reflect cultural and natural activities around the time of year that full Moon is visible.
A Hunter's Moon, for example, is the full Moon at the time of year when hunters would traditionally be most active.
There are a few explanations and theories you'll find if you delve into the subject.
October is the time of year when hunting begins and the bright full Moon provides light so hunters can see their prey.
The Hunter's Moon is the full Moon after harvest, meaning bare fields and fewer places for animals to hide.
Animals are fattened from feeding in preparation for hibernation, so the Hunter's Moon denotes the time of year a hunter's prize would be greatest.
Finally, this when hunters would capture prey to provide meat in store for the cold winter months.
But don't let this fool you. The Hunter's Moon will look much the same as any other full Moon of the year, except for one subtle difference in 2025...
2025's Hunter's Moon is a supermoon
There are four so-called supermoons in 2025, and the 6/7 October full Hunter's Moon is the first, referred to by some aa the 'Super Hunter's Moon'.
As the date approaches, websites and social media are bound to be awash with articles proclaiming a huge, giant Moon will hang enormously bright in the sky.
The reason for this is because the Moon will be at its closest point to Earth in its orbit.
Our Moon's orbit around Earth is not a perfect circle: it's elliptical, or egg-shaped.
There are times when the Moon is furthest from Earth (known as 'apogee'), and times when it's closest to Earth (known as 'perigee').
During a supermoon, the Moon is at perigee.
The official term for a supermoon is a 'perigee syzygy Moon', 'syzygy' referring to three celestial objects in a straight alignment: in this case the Sun, Earth and the Moon.
So the October Hunter's Moon supermoon will technically be bigger and brighter than a 'regular' full Moon, but the truth is the difference is imperceptible to the naked eye.
It won't appear much bigger or brighter than any other full Moon.
Having said that, a full Moon - supermoon or not – is a beautiful spectacle in the night sky.
Harvest Moon
This October Hunter's Moon is also the 2025 Harvest Moon.
The month of the Harvest Moon varies from year to year, because it's the full Moon that's closest to the autumn equinox.
That means sometimes the Harvest Moon is in September, and sometimes it's in October.
In 2025, September's full Moon rose on 7 September, and the autumn equinox is on 22 September.
The full Moon in October 2025 reaches peak illumination on 6/7 October, depending on your time zone, and it's the Harvest Moon for the year.
If you're planning on observing the October Hunter's Moon supermoon, here are some ideas on how to make the most of it.
Observing the Hunter's Moon supermoon
- See if the rising full Moon looks bigger - this is known as the Moon illusion
- Does the rising Moon also look orange or even rusty red?
- While not as favourable as a crescent or gibbous Moon, observe the Moon with binoculars or telescope
- Photograph the Moon with a DSLR camera
- Photograph the Moon with a smartphone
- Get out your paper and pencils and sketch the Moon
- Full Moon is a good time to observe lunar ray ejecta systems
- See if you can spot a halo or arc around the Moon
- See if you can spot a Moonbow
If you observe or photograph the October Hunter's Moon supermoon, share your images and observations with us by emailing contactus@skyatnightmagazine.com
