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Watch the supermoon Hunter’s Moon ally with the comet in the free live stream today

Madoc Meredith October 17, 2024

The Hunter Supermoon, the largest of 2024, and Comet: C/2023 A3 Online Observation – Oct. 17, 2024 – YouTube

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Tonight, two spectacular sights appear in the night sky that you can watch live.

The full Hunter’s Moon, the largest supermoon of 2024, will rise opposite the bright comet C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan-ATLAS) in the sky in October. The moon will officially become full today (October 17) at 7:26 a.m. EDT (1126 GMT), but will appear full to the naked eye throughout the night. As the sun sets this evening, the photogenic comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS will shine brightly in the western sky.

If the viewing conditions in your area aren’t ideal or you can’t make it outside to see the pair on opposite sides of the sky tonight, you’re in luck: thanks to the Virtual Telescope, you can see them both in a free livestream project. Astronomer Gianluca Masi will livestream telescopic observations of both the Hunter’s full moon and Comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS starting at 1:30 p.m. EDT (1730 GMT) today. Watch it live here, courtesy of the Virtual Telescope Project, or on the project’s YouTube channel.

two images: a large full moon and a bright ball in the night sky that leaves a blurry trail — The October 2024 full Hunter’s Moon will join Comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS in the night sky on Thursday (October 17), and you can enjoy both with a free livestream courtesy of the Virtual Telescope Project. (Image credit: Zabed Hasnain Chowdhury/NurPhoto/David McNew/Getty Images)

Celestron NexStar 4SE telescope on white background — (Image credit: Celestron)

Would you like to see the moon up close? The Celestron NexStar 4SE is ideal for beginners who want high-quality, reliable and fast views of the night sky. It’s robustly built, quick to set up, and automatically locates targets in the night sky and provides crisp, clear views of them. For more information, see our Celestron NexStar 4SE review.

The Hunter’s Moon in October 2024 will be the largest full moon of the year thanks to its proximity to Earth. The moon reached perigee, its closest point to Earth in its slightly elliptical or oval orbit, on the evening of Wednesday (October 16), coming just 221,938 miles (357,174 kilometers) from our planet.

The result is that the Hunter’s Moon is colloquially known as a “supermoon,” meaning it appears about 14% larger in the sky than normal. Since the timing of the full moon phase and perigee occurred within a few hours, October’s supermoon will be the largest in 2024.

Tonight the moon will rise in the east just as the sun sets. Because full moons occur when the moon and sun are opposite each other and the Earth is in the middle, full moons always rise in the east, just as the sun sets in the west.

a big bright full moon.

An illustration of the October full moon that occurred on Thursday, October 17, at 7:26 a.m. EDT (11:26 GMT). (Image credit: Chris Vaughan/Starry Night)

The setting sun in the sky in the west is joined by comet C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan-ATLAS). The comet put on quite a show for astrophotographers this year – even in space! The comet passed its closest point to Earth on October 12 and is rising higher in the sky, although it will grow dimmer over the next week before it is no longer visible to the naked eye.

If you want to get a closer look at the full moon, comets, or other objects in the night sky, our guide to the best telescopes for beginners can help you find what you need. And if you prefer something more portable, check out our guide to the best binoculars.

Editor’s note: If you want to take a stunning photo of the Full Hunter supermoon and share it with Space.com, send images and comments to our skywatching inbox at [email protected].