METRO DETROIT (WWJ) - For a few days starting Saturday night, October's full moon will put on quite a show for Michiganders as it appears large and orange while rising on the eastern horizon.
According to the Old Farmer's Almanac, the moon will begin to appear massive with a jack-o-lantern hue on Oct. 9, reaching its full peak on Sunday, Oct. 9.
While the moon will reach its max illumination just before 5 p.m. on Sunday, it will not be visible as it will be below the horizon. Metro Detroiters will have to wait until the moon rises around sunset to catch the spooky spectacle.
The moon will appear huge due to the "moon illusion," experts say.
American astronomer Bob Berman says most people believe the earth's atmosphere has some part to play in the optical illusion, but the answer is much simpler.
"When the Moon is high overhead, it is dwarfed by the vast hemisphere of the heavens and appears to our eyes as a small disk in the sky,' he explained.
"By contrast, when the Moon is low, it is viewed in relation to earthly objects, such as chimneys or trees, whose size and shape provide scale. Your brain compares the size of the Moon to the trees, buildings, or other reference points, and suddenly, the Moon looks massive!"
The Old Farmer's Almanac said October's full moon came to be called the Hunter's Moon to usher in the time for Native Americans to prepare for winter and hunt to stock up on meat.
The term first appeared in the Oxford English Dictionary in 1710 -- it is the earliest known use of 'Hunter's Moon."'
"Some sources suggest that other names for the Hunter’s Moon are the Sanguine or Blood Moon, either associated with the blood from hunting or the color of the changing autumn leaves," the almanac said.
Alternative names for the full moon in October also derive from weather-related signs of the changing season or activities people were partaking in during late fall, like the following:
• Drying Rice Moon, a Dakota name, describes part of the post-harvest process of preparing rice for winter.
• Falling Leaves Moon is an Anishinaabe term that highlights the transition between summer and fall.
• Freezing Moon (Ojibwe) and Ice Moon (Haida) refer to the increasingly cold temperatures of this period.
• Migrating Moon (Cree) refers to the time when birds begin to fly south to warmer climates.
Accuweather meteorologists say Metro Detroit should have clear skies for viewing the moon tonight, Oct. 8, but it will be chilly with a low of 38.
Sunday will seen partial sunshine during the daytime hours with partly cloudy to cloudy skies during the evening time.