Harvest Moon Starts A Trio Of Supermoons: What To Know In GA

There’s nothing like the full harvest moon to inspire nostalgia, but Monday’s is extra special as it kicks off a trio of supermoons to end 2025. Here’s what Georgians need to know:

Because it’s a supermoon, the harvest moon will appear bigger and brighter for a few days on either side of the peak, depending on whether Georgia sky conditions are favorable. Look for partly cloudy skies Monday night over the region.

Supermoon or not, the October full moon always appears larger than normal as it creeps over the horizon soon after sunset, bathing the early evening landscape in golden moonlight.

October full moons also often appear orange because they rise just after sunset. Because of that, these full moons are sometimes associated with the “great pumpkin.”

Similar to the sun’s light as it sets, the moon’s light travels through a thicker part of Earth’s atmosphere when it is low on the horizon. This causes the shorter-wavelength blue light to scatter away, allowing the longer-wavelength orange and red light to shine through.

Supermoons occur when the moon is at perigee, the point in its orbit when it is closest to Earth, making it appear up to 14 percent larger and 30 percent brighter than the faintest full moon of the year. Although not an official astronomical term, any full moon that is at least 90 percent of perigee may be called a supermoon.

The average moon is about 238,900 miles from Earth, according to EarthSky. Compare that to the three supermoons this year:

• Oct. 6 full harvest moon: 224,599 miles
• Nov. 5 full beaver moon: 221,817 miles
• Dec. 4 full cold moon: 221,965 miles

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