November’s Beaver Moon, and other full moon dates for 2020

This year, space fans may have seen July’s full moon turn a shade darker than usual, as the third penumbral lunar eclipse of 2020 took place. 

When? July 5

August: Sturgeon Moon

Tribes in North America typically caught Sturgeon around this time, but it is also when grain and corn were gathered so is sometimes referred to as Grain Moon. 

This full moon appears in the same month as the Perseid meteor shower, which peaks on August 12 and 13. 

This year, a black moon (the third new moon in a season of four new moons), will also take place on August 19. However, we won’t be able to see this lunar event as new moons are invisible to the naked eye.  

When? August 3

September and October: Full Corn Moon and Harvest Moon

It was during September that most of the crops were harvested ahead of the autumn and this full moon would give light to farmers so they could carry on working longer in the evening. As a result, it is most commonly known as the Harvest Moon, with some tribes also calling it the Full Corn Moon, Barley Moon or Fruit Moon. 

However, the Harvest Moon is the name given to the first full moon that takes place closest to the Autumn Equinox. While the Harvest Moon usually falls in September, around every three years the timings of the astronomical seasons lead to it falling in October instead.

In 2020, the Autumn Equinox falls on September 22, with the closest full moon falling in October. Therefore, September’s full moon was known as the Full Corn Moon, while the first of two full moons in October was the Harvest Moon. 

When? September 2 and October 1

October: Hunter’s Moon

As people planned ahead for the cold months ahead, October’s full moon came to signify the ideal time for hunting game, which were becoming fatter from eating falling grains. This full moon is also known as the Travel Moon and the Dying Grass Moon.

In 2020, the Hunter’s Moon was also a blue moon, because it was the second of two full moons to occur in October.  

When? October 31

Total lunar eclipses

A total lunar eclipse, otherwise known as a ‘blood moon’, occurs when the Moon moves into the Earth’s shadow. At the distance of the Moon, this shadow appears like the bull’s eye at the centre of a dartboard.

The umbral shadow slowly creeps across the Moon’s disc until it engulfs it completely. You might think the Moon would disappear from view at this point but this is typically not the case. The Earth’s atmosphere acts like a lens, refracting or bending the Sun’s red light to infill the otherwise dark umbra. This results in the Moon’s usual bright white hue transforming into a deep blood orange.

Space fans will remember that the last total lunar eclipse graced our skies on January 21, 2019. In total the celestial spectacle – which was also a full moon and a supermoon – lasted five hours, 11 minutes and 33 seconds, with its maximum totality peaking at 5:12am.

While the next total lunar eclipse is not set to take place in the UK until May 16, 2022, three prenumbral lunar eclipses occurred this year on January 10, June 5 and July 5.

This type of eclipse takes place when the Moon moves through the outer part of the Earth’s…