Topline
Did you see 2025’s full harvest moon? Turning full on Monday, Oct. 6, the first full moon of fall in the Northern Hemisphere was also the first of four “supermoons” that will close out 2025 and begin 2026.
Key Facts
The harvest moon is traditionally named for the light it gave farmers getting their crops in, allowing them to work all night.
The moon officially reached its full phase late on Monday, Oct. 6, but will also be a dramatic sight during moonrise on Tuesday, Oct. 7.
Emerging just after sunset across North America, the moon appeared larger than usual when seen on the horizon, partly a product of the “moon illusion,” which NASA states is a trick our brains play on us.
However, this year’s harvest moon was also a “supermoon,” appearing larger and brighter than usual because of its slightly closer distance from Earth.
The next full moon, the beaver moon, will be the year’s biggest supermoon and the largest since 2019. It will rise on Nov. 5, 2025.
What Makes A ‘harvest Moon’
The harvest moon is the closest full moon to the September equinox, which means it can occur during September or early October. With the equinox on Sept. 22 in 2025, the full moon earlier that month took on the name corn moon, with October’s typical hunter’s moon dropped and replaced by the harvest moon. October’s full moon can also be called the falling leaves moon and the blood moon (the latter not to be confused with a total lunar eclipse).
What Is A ‘supermoon?’
The moon orbits Earth in a slightly elliptical orbit, so each month it reaches its closest point to Earth, known as perigee, and its farthest point, called apogee. When perigee and a full moon coincide, it’s a supermoon. There’s about a 10% difference in distance from Earth from perigee to apogee, so supermoons do look bigger, but not by much.
2025’s Three Supermoons
This harvest moon is the first of four supermoons in a row, the others being November’s beaver moon (the largest), December’s cold moon and January’s wolf moon. Although they have gotten a lot of media attention in recent years, that’s largely down to the name — they used to be called perigee full moons.
October’s Bright Comets
With the full moon out of the way, skywatchers will now get busy looking for two comets — comet Lemmon (C/2025 A6) and comet SWAN R2 (Comet C/2025 R2). They look set to peak at the same time, around Oct. 20-23, when they will be visible in binoculars and possibly to the naked eye. That coincides not only with the new moon on Oct. 21, but also with the peak of the Orionid meteor shower that night.
