Full Moon Bonfire
Sunday, October 29, 2023
Location: On the beach between BW 1 and 2
Sunset – 6:31 pm
Moonrise – 7:04 pm
High Tide – 9:34 pm
Full Hunters Moon
Once again, this full moon promises to bring king tides but hopefully another beautiful evening on the beach. The evenings are getting cooler and a fire provides a little warmth and the ambiance for an enjoyable evening on the beach with friends, family and neighbors. The bonfire is scheduled for the evening after the actual full moon so the moon rise will occur after the sunset for hopefully a beautiful moon rise out of the ocean.
To keep things simple, each person brings what you want: food, drinks, chairs and a stick of firewood for a big bonfire. Nothing will be provided but a beautiful beach, a bonfire and, hopefully, a full moon.
Hopefully the weather remains accomodating. People ask if the bonfire will be held if it’s rainy…. the bonfire will be cancelled if it is raining or rain is threatening as few would be comfortable attending.
By terms of the permit, the fire needs to be out no later than 10. The earlier sunset and moonrise times give us time to enjoy the evening.
Other night sky observation opportunities:
- The Internationial Space Station is not scheduled to be visible this evening.
- According to spacetourismguide.com, there are no astronomy events the last week of October for our area.
- The next SpaceX launch isn’t scheduled until November 5.
- Starlink is a chain of satellites that reside in low-Earth orbit in outer space. The satellite constellation was launched into orbit in 2019 by SpaceX and provides worldwide, broadband internet services. It appears brighter than the space station and looks like a stream of lights are running across the sky. Findstarlink.com provides the dates and times it would be visible in the next five days. At the time of this writing, the visibility the date of the bonfire is unknown. Brilliant visability is expected on October 25, 26 and 27 around 7:20 pm. Check the website for specifics.
Put these dates for the Full Moon Bonfires on your calendar:
- Monday, November 27
- Tuesday, December 26 – no bonfire unless someone volunteers to take charge
- Friday, January 26 – scheduled for the day after full moon so the moon rise is after sun set
There’s always plenty of room on the beach for everyone, so invite a friend or bring your houseguests.
How the full moon got its name:
Per The Old Farmer’s Almanac:
October – Full Hunter’s Moon: This name originates from the fact that it was a signal for hunters to prepare for the upcoming cold winter by going hunting. This is because animals were beginning to fatten up in preparation for the winter season. Moreover, since fields had recently been cleared out under the Harvest Moon, hunters could easily spot deer and other animals that had come out to search for remaining scraps. Additionally, foxes and wolves would also come out to prey on these animals. The earliest use of the term “Hunter’s Moon,” cited in the Oxford English Dictionary, is from 1710. Some sources suggest that other names for the Hunter’s Moon are the Sanguine or Blood Moon, either associated with the blood from hunting or the color of the changing autumn leaves.
Other names: The names of the Moon are most often related to natural signs of the season or to activities that were done at this time of year. Some of our favorites include:
- Drying Rice Moon, a Dakota name, describes part of the post-harvest process of preparing rice for winter.
- Falling Leaves Moon is an Anishinaabe term highlighting the transition between summer and fall.
- Freezing Moon (Ojibwe) and Ice Moon (Haida) refer to the increasingly cold temperatures of this period.
- Migrating Moon (Cree) refers to when birds begin to fly south to warmer climates.
I found another website that says the Cherokee Indians called it the Harvest Moon and the English Medieval name was the Blood Moon.
Another website says the Chinese call it Kindly Moon.
-Submitted by Judy Morr