The moon was full Wednesday night, and tonight will still appear full to all but the most discerning moon watchers.
Unfortunately, it will still be bright enough to significantly interfere with the Leonid meteor shower that peaks on Monday morning.
Last month I noted the full moon nearest the autumnal equinox is called the harvest moon, and the next full moon after the harvest moon is the hunter's moon. One reader asked if full moons in other months have names as well.
Indeed, they do.
The list is almost endless because most cultures ancient and modern have given the full moon many names.
According to the Farmer's Almanac, Native Americans of the northern and eastern part of North America keep track of the seasons by naming the recurring full moons and their months: wolf moon (January ); snow moon (February); worm moon (March); pink moon (April); flower moon (May); strawberry moon (June); buck moon (July); sturgeon moon (August); harvest moon (September); hunter's moon (October); beaver moon (November); and cold moon or long nights moon (December).
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Names actually vary depending on the Native American tribe.
Moreover, the colonial Americans had a list of full moon names, such as planter's moon (April) or Christmas moon (December).
The Chinese also had many interesting names for full moons, such as peony moon (April), lotus moon (June), chrysanthemum moon (September) and bitter moon (December).
A somewhat more modern example is the blue moon, which is the third of four full moons in a season or the second full moon in a month.
Because the lunar month is only 29 days, the full moon dates constantly shift from year to year.