by Sid Baglini
Thursday, October 17, 2024 7:00 P.M.
Let’s walk under The Full Hunter’s Moon. The name reflects the age old practice of stocking up on protein for the coming winter months. Indigenous peoples welcomed the lunar light as it made success more likely and it was also named the Full Blood Moon, the Moon When They Store Food in Caches or the Moon When Someone Stores Food. Wildlife is similarly engaged with bears hunting berries, deer seeking acorns, and squirrels gathering seeds. Birds without sources of winter feed migrate to more habitable places, another way of “hunting” for food this time of year. Humans and their wild neighbors are acutely aware of the onset of cold weather and the need to provide for family and self so the name of this full Moon captures a universal concern.
Naturally, there are other names affiliated with this month’s Full Moon. You can choose from The Migrating Moon, The Freezing Moon, or the very descriptive Falling Leaves Moon and Moon When the Wind Shakes Off Leaves. You can simply call it The Seed Moon because most plants, after a summer of energetic growth, have gone to seed for the year with their mission accomplished!
We will be walking just before the peak of the Orionids meteor shower which runs all month but peaks on the mornings of October 20th and 21st. At its peak, you could see 10 to 20 meteors per hour but the light of the full Moon and the ambient light from buildings in Malvern make our seeing one less likely.
After two months of self directed Moon Walks and a special event in September with the Astronomical Society of Chester County, we’re ready to kick up our heels and hunt for some fun under the Full Hunter’s Moon. We meet behind Borough Hall and there is plenty of parking along 1st Avenue and Channing Avenue. All are welcome.