12-05-2025
Why Full Moon Names Can Get a Little Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious
Gazing upon May's full moon tonight? Chances are, you've seen it called the Flower Micromoon. In my time at Country Living, I've also covered a 'Blood Worm Moon' and a 'Super Blue Moon.' These fun names are simply combinations of a few factors that may apply to any given moon.
In one category, you have your common names for lunar events—think eclipses, full moons that pass by particularly close or far from Earth, and bonus full moons that occur within a single calendar month or season. A name can rack up as many of these monikers as are applicable. (A 'Super Blue Blood Moon'? In happened in January 2019, according to NASA.)
In the second category, you have the monthly moon names popularized by The Old Farmer's Almanac. These are derived from 'Native American, Colonial American, or other traditional North American sources passed down through generations,' according to the publication. These names, as you'll see, have seasonal significance.
Read on for all the names our ever-changing moon can take on during the full moon appear a little brighter and larger because they're closer to Earth than your typical lunar sighting. However, keep in mind, the difference is small. Viewing a moon when it's near the horizon, or large objects like buildings or trees, as shown here, makes the moon look bigger, supermoon or opposite of a supermoon, a full micromoon occurs when the moon is at or near its farthest distance from Earth in its orbit. This photo is for dramatic effect, but in truth, it's difficult to tell the difference in apparent size between the closest supermoon and farthest micromoon without a frame of you stayed up late to see March 2025's full moon, you know all about this one! This full moon occurs during a total lunar eclipse and takes on red or orange hue. It might look (and sound) a little spooky, but it's simply the effect of the Earth casting its shadow on the moon. All the light reflecting off the moon during totality first goes through our atmosphere, which changes the color of the moons aren't actually blue in color. The term refers to any second full moon of the month, according to which happens every 2 to 3 years. There are also seasonal blue moons, which is actually the older use of the term—these blue moons are considered the third full moon of an astronomical season that contains four full moons (instead of usual three). Occasionally, onlookers may see a blue-ish colored moon in the sky, but this occurs very rarely and is due to dust or smoke particles in the full moon is aptly named as wolves do tend to howl the first month of the year. It's the beginning of their mating season, which comes with more social behaviors. 'Howling is for long-distance communication to pull a pack back together and to keep strangers away,' the National Wildlife Federation origin of this name is pretty obvious: the full moon in the month of February would light up the sky and illuminate snow on the full moon name was once believed to refer to worms in the soil. However, historical sleuths have uncovered another origin for the name—wriggly beetle larvae emerging from tree bark in early spring, according to The Old Farmer's Almanac.A pink moon isn't actually pink. Instead, April's full moon gets its name from the pink wildflowers, which grow in Canada and the U.S. around this time of full moon in May is named after the abundance of plants in bloom at this more obvious name here, this June moon occurs when strawberries are in season, particularly in northern parts of the July moon marks the time of year when a buck's antlers are nearly, if not entirely, grown. Some tribes called the full moon occurring around the same time of year a "thunder moon," after summertime American tribes used this fish, which is readily available in the U.S. and Canada during the late summer, to refer to the full moon in you might expect, the Harvest Moon shines over harvesttime. Instead of being determined by a calendar month, it's always the full moon that falls closest to the autumnal equinox. While it usually occurs in September, occasionally you'll see the beauty light up the sky in early October. September's full moon may also be called the Corn Moon, Barley Moon, or Wine Hunter's Moon signals it's time to store up meat for the winter. It always follows the Harvest Moon, which means the month this full moon falls in can vary too. The Hunter's Moon most often falls in October but can occasionally fall in November. Other names for October's full moon include Falling Leaves Moon, Drying Rice Moon, and Migrating or Travel full moon, also known as the Beaver Moon, takes place in November and marks the arrival of cold called a "Long Nights Moon," this one indicates the time of year when nights are the longest and coldest. The full Cold Moon falls in December.
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