October full moon peaks as first 2025 supermoon and Harvest Moon

The moon will appear larger and brighter this week as the October full moon reaches peak illumination late Monday night, marking the first supermoon of 2025 and the Harvest Moon for the year. The lunar disk will be fully lit at about 11:47 to 11:48 p.m. Eastern Time on Monday, Oct. 6, visible from horizon to horizon for observers in North America and on subsequent nights for viewers elsewhere as the globe turns.

A supermoon occurs when a full moon lines up near lunar perigee, the point in the moon's elliptical orbit when it is closest to Earth. This October full moon will pass at roughly 224,600 miles, or about 361,459 kilometers, from Earth, making it noticeably brighter and slightly larger than an average full moon. NASA notes that such near approaches can make the moon appear as much as 14 percent larger and about 30 percent brighter than the faintest full moon of the year.

This year's October full moon also carries the Harvest Moon name, assigned to the full moon closest to the autumnal equinox. Because the equinox fell on Sept. 22, the October full moon is the nearest and thus takes that traditional designation. Historically, the extra evening light around a Harvest Moon...