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The October full moon, known as the Hunter’s Moon, reaches its peak on Monday, October 26, offering skywatchers an opportunity to observe one of the most striking sights in the night sky.
The Moon reaches 100 per cent illumination at 4:12 GMT on October 26, equivalent to 10:12 am Bangladesh time. However, the exact time of moonrise varies by location, and the Moon will appear full to the naked eye on the nights surrounding its peak.
The full Moon occurs when the lunar disk appears opposite the Sun in Earth’s sky, leaving the side facing our planet almost entirely illuminated. Around this time, the boundary between the Moon’s illuminated and dark sides, known as the terminator, becomes difficult to distinguish, reducing the shadows that normally highlight craters and mountains.
Although the full Moon’s bright appearance can make some surface features harder to observe, it provides an excellent opportunity to examine the dark lunar plains, known as maria. These vast basaltic regions formed when ancient volcanic lava flooded impact basins billions of years ago and later cooled and hardened.
Bright streaks radiating from relatively young impact craters are also visible. These features, called ray systems, consist of reflective material thrown across the lunar surface when asteroids or other objects struck the Moon.
