Get Ready for the Final Supermoon of 2015

Almost exactly one month after the famed Super Blood Moon, we get our third and final supermoon tonight, October 26.

Although it’s not as rare of a phenomenon as the supermoon lunar eclipse, which hadn’t happened since 1982, the regular ol’ supermoon is still special.

Supermoons occur when the Moon is on the opposite side of the Earth as the sun, making it appear fully lit up. The Moon is also at its closest point to the Earth, so it looks even bigger than usual. The last supermoon, for example, was the biggest of the year and looked an incredible 14 percent bigger and 30 percent brighter than the average 2015 Moon.

The supermoon that rises on the evening of October 26 and stays up through the morning hours of October 27 will come within 222,744 miles of Earth, which actually makes it just the fifth closest moon of the year — behind some new Moon supermoons.

But size isn’t everything. October’s supermoon is all about timing as it, obviously, comes just days before Halloween. This particular full moon is also known as the Harvest Moon, the Full Hunter’s Moon, the Travel Moon, and, most frighteningly, the Dying Grass Moon, according to Farmers’ Almanac.

In addition, the Moon is the origin of the fall tradition of bobbing for apples. Apparently, Roman folklore said that the first person to catch an apple with his/her teeth would be the first to marry in the coming year.

Unfortunately, the upcoming supermoon will be at its closest distance at 8:05 a.m. EST, but will still be visible in the coming night sky. It won’t be red and it (still) won’t spell the apocalypse, but it is the last full moon-supermoon until October 16, 2016! We’ve been spoiled with a mere 29-day wait between supermoons. If you miss your next chance, have fun waiting another 355.