On Monday, October 26, and for a few days afterward, you can see the Hunter’s Moon high in the Montreal sky.
And Saturday, October 31—Halloween, the first official day of the darkest season of the year—is coming up at the end of the week. Mercury is in retrograde, there’s a certain buzz in the streets of Montreal, and it’s not just because of the candy.
All week long, the moon will rise in the east and appear orange right after “moonrise.” With a little math and preparation, you’ll be able to see the orange moon this week—and maybe create some wonderful memories for Montreal’s little ones.
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THE ORANGE MOON, “MOONRISES,” AND HALLOWEEN
According to our favorite Instagram account for keeping up with what’s happening in Montreal’s skies, Plateau Astro, the moon will appear orange and larger than usual this week.
This is because it rises in the northeast, and as it passes through the Earth’s atmosphere, it’s filtered by the air. To the naked eye, it appears orange (almost red) because certain wavelengths are blocked by atmospheric molecules. This is called the Rayleigh scattering phenomenon.
The moon will be orange, but only for a few moments after “moonrise,” and you’ll have to chase it to appreciate its Halloween-esque beauty.
The moon will be very round, very classic, very dramatic. That’s because the full moon was yesterday, October 26, 2026. The October Hunter’s Full Moon follows the September full moon, which is traditionally called the “Harvest Moon.” After the harvests, hunters would fill their pantries with the meat of deer and other woodland animals that had been fattened by a long, bountiful summer.
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HOW CAN YOU SEE THE ORANGE MOON THIS WEEK?
First, grab your compass (or your phone) and find northeast. That’s where the moon will rise.
Next, you’ll need to find out what time the moon rises, because it will be orange for about 20–30 minutes after it rises. To do this, you can use a website like this one, which gives you very precise moonrise times every day.
Tuesday, October 27 / 6:18
p.m. Wednesday, October 28 / 7:06
p.m. Thursday, October 29 / 8:07
p.m. Friday, October 30 / 9:21
p.m. Saturday, October 31 / 10:40 p.m.
According to Plateau Astro, the best place to see the moon rise in the northeast this week is the Kondiaronk Lookout. But, of course, we have a list of the prettiest spots to see it.
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