October Has 2 Full Moons, One On Halloween

The year 2020 has 13 full moons, instead of 12. Two of these full moons will occur in the spookiest of months, October. The first of these full moons will occur on the first of October, 2020, starting at 5:05 PM (17:05) Eastern Time. Because this moon is so close to the Autumn Equinox, this is the 2020 Full Harvest Moon.

You may not be able to see the Full Harvest Moon where you live, depending on cloud cover and your place on the planet. But assuming you live somewhere where it begins to get dark early enough in the evening, you should be able to see the moon in its most spectacular fullness. Cross your fingers you don't have any nearby werewolves.

The second full moon of the month occurs on October 31, Halloween. Parts of this event aren't particularly rare, while other bits haven't happened for many years. For some time zones, a full moon will appear ON Halloween every 19 years.

A full moon on Halloween that occurs across several significantly-populated time zones (we're mainly speaking about the USA here because we're talking about Halloween), hasn't occurred since the year 1944. That was also a wartime Halloween full moon, as World War II was raging.

October 31, 1944 was also the date on which Dr Marcel Petiot, serial killer, was apprehended at a Paris Metro station. Just after this full moon, the November 7 Presidential Election saw Franklin D Roosevelt win his fourth term – making him the only U.S. President to be elected to four terms in office.

The full moon on Halloween will begin to take shape at 10:49 AM Eastern Time. As such, it'll remain visible across the United States throughout the most ghoulish of holidays.

If all that weren't enough, this Halloween day is also the last day of Daylight Savings Time. Overnight you'll need to move your clocks back an hour – so you'll get an "extra hour" of sleep, if you do so choose.