Of the 12 or 13 full moons each year, usually three or four are considered to be supermoons, always appearing consecutively. In 2025, there will be just three supermoons – with this one being our first this year.
This month’s full moon is what’s known as the Hunter’s Moon, as it typically falls in October and takes its name from the early farmers and hunters who would have relied on the light from this full moon to gather food.
What is a supermoon?
The moon has an elliptical orbit, which means it travels in an oval-shaped path.
A supermoon occurs when a full moon coincides with the perigee: the position at which the Moon is at its closest point to the Earth.
A supermoon can appear up to 14 per cent bigger and 30 per cent brighter than other full moons.
When is the next supermoon?
This month's full moon will falls on 6/7 October 2025.
When are the other supermoons this year?
In 2025, we have just two other scheduled supermoons: the Beaver Moon and the Cold Moon, falling in November and December respectively. Those supermoons will fall on 5 November (Beaver Moon) and 4 December (Cold Moon).
Will the supermoon be visible?
It’s difficult to know at this stage whether the supermoon will be visible to the naked eye. Cloudy skies are the main blocker to good stargazing, and with the jet stream across the south of the UK and low pressure dominating, the weather over the last month has been mixed and skies have been cloudy.
Even on cloudy nights, however, patience can pay dividends – as occasionally the clouds will briefly lift to reveal the celestial activity.
Where is best to see the supermoon?
As with all celestial activity, the best place to go to see the supermoon will be areas with dark skies and minimal light pollution. Here are some of the International Dark Sky Places that would be worth checking out:
- Bannau Brycheiniog National Park (Brecon Beacons)
- Bodmin Moor
- Eryri National Park (Snowdonia)
- Cranborne Chase
- Elan Valley
- Exmoor National Park
- Galloway Forest Park
- Gower National Landscape
- North York Moors National Park
- Northumberland National Park
- OM Dark Sky Park & Observatory, Northern Ireland
- Yorkshire Dales National Park
- West Penwith, Cornwall
- Glenlivet Estate, Cairngorms
- Presteigne & Norton Dark Sky Community, Wales
- North Ronaldsay Dark Sky Island, Orkney
- Isle of Rum, Inner Hebrides
- Moore’s Reserve, South Downs National Park
Top image credit: Getty
