There is disagreement over the origin of November's beaver moon name. Other names include the travel moon and the dying grass moon. The hunter's moon is also particularly bright and long-lasting in the sky, giving hunters the opportunity to stalk prey at night. The first moon after the harvest moon is the hunter's moon, so named as the preferred month to hunt summer-fattened deer and fox unable to hide in now bare fields. Other names include the corn moon and the barley moon. The most familiar named moon, September's harvest moon refers to the time of year after the northern autumn equinox when crops are gathered. It's also been called the green corn moon, the grain moon, and the red moon for the reddish hue it often takes on in the summer haze. North American fishing tribes called August's full moon the sturgeon moon, since the species was traditionally abundant during this month. Other names include thunder moon, for the month's many summer storms, and hay moon, after the July hay harvest. Male deer, which shed their antlers every year, begin to regrow them in July, hence the Native American name for July's full moon. Europeans have dubbed it the rose moon, while other cultures named it the hot moon for the beginning of summer heat. In North America, the harvesting of strawberries in June gives that month's full moon its name. Other names include the hare moon, the corn planting moon, and the milk moon. May's abundant blooms give its full moon the name flower moon in many cultures. In other cultures, this moon is called the sprouting grass moon, the egg moon, and the fish moon. Northern Native Americans call April's full moon the pink moon after a species of early blooming wildflower. Other names include chaste moon, death moon, crust moon (a reference to snow that would become crusty as it thawed during the day and froze at night), and sap moon, after the tapping of the maple trees. This last full moon of winter was named the worm moon after the worm trails that would appear in the newly thawed ground. Other common names include storm moon and hunger moon. The typically cold, snowy weather of February in North America earned this full moon its name. Other names for this month's full moon include old moon and ice moon. Native Americans and medieval Europeans supposedly named January's full moon after the howling of hungry wolves lamenting the midwinter paucity of food. In any given month we see eight distinct phases of the moon, defined by how much of the lunar disk is illuminated from our perspective and whether the moon is heading toward or away from being full. That means the same side of the moon always faces Earth, although both sides get illuminated as the moon orbits, so there is no perpetual dark side of the moon.Īs the moon, Earth, and the sun go through their orbital dance, the part of the moon that's illuminated by sunlight moves in and out of our view, creating a predictable series of lunar phases. In essence, it takes roughly the same amount of time for the moon to spin once on its axis as it takes for our celestial companion to complete an orbit around Earth. In addition, our view of the moon is governed by a gravitational quirk called tidal locking. This lunar cycle happens in part because the moon does not produce its own light the silvery glow we see comes from sunlight reflecting off the moon's monochrome surface. What is the moon made of, and how did it form? Learn about the moon's violent origins, how its phases shaped the earliest calendars, and how humans first explored Earth's only natural satellite half a century ago.
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