2 Good Reasons Sky Gazers of Minnesota Can Look Up This Weekend

Growing up more northern Minnesota, in the country I have always had a special interest in looking up at the sky. Anywhere from sunrise to sunset and beyond I will look up at the sky, especially when I know there are extra sights to be seen at night. This weekend there will be two reasons to stop and take a break to look up.

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First off, if you notice that people are a little more "crazy", strange or more out of sorts than normal this weekend, it's probably because there is a full moon in the horizon. Literally you'll be able to see it in the sky this Sunday, October 9. Technically you'll get to start seeing it Saturday in the sky through Monday, but it will peak on Sunday. Fun fact, the October Full Moon is known as the "Hunter's Moon".

Wondering why it's called the "Hunter's Moon"? Fear not the Farmer's Almanac gives a great explanation, stating,

It is believed that this full Moon came to be called the full Hunter's Moon because it signaled the time to go hunting in preparation for the cold winter ahead. Animals are beginning to fatten up ahead of winter, and since the farmers had recently cleaned out their fields under the Harvest Moon, hunters could easily see the deer and other animals that had come out to root through the remaining scraps (as well as the foxes and wolves that had come out to prey on them).

Can learn a little more by watching this:

Now for the second reason to take the time to night sky gaze this Saturday, October 8 and Sunday, October 9 is because you might be able to see the annual Draconid meteor shower.

Photo by Dick Hoskins on Unsplash

Meteor showers, you may or may not know, as explained by Live Science,

occur when Earth passes through the clouds of rocky debris left behind by comets.

Want to have an idea on where to look for that sight in the sky? They give a detailed explanation of how this particular shower is named after the, "constellation Draco, the dragon - a northern sky constellation whose serpentine tail swoops between the Big and Little Dippers". I'd suggest finding them and looking by there.

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Photo by Christian Testa on Unsplash

However, keep in mind with the full "Hunter's Moon" this weekend also, it might be a bit harder to see this particular Draconid meteor shower. Want a good chance at seeing all of it, get away to the darkest place you can find and let your eyes adjust and you should hopefully see both sights this weekend.

Happy sky gazing my friends and it will be cooler so be sure to bundle up!