How to see the full moons on Oct. 1 and Halloween - Live Science

Sneak a peek at the harvest and blue moons.

To mark the occasion, the second full moon will be known as a "blue moon," although it won't actually appear blue.

(The moon looks blue only when there are massive amounts of particles in Earth's atmosphere, such as dust from a volcanic eruption, which scatter different wavelengths of light differing amounts.) Another "blue moon" definition highlights the third of four full moons in a single season.

To see Thursday's full moon, also known as the harvest moon, set an alarm for 5:05 p.m.

Most years, the harvest moon shines in September, but this year it's lighting up the night sky in October, as it's the full moon closest to the fall equinox, which fell on Sept.

1 moon include the travel moon, dying grass moon and sanguine or blood moon (per the Algonquin tribes, who lived in the American Northeast, at least according to the now-defunct 1930s Maine Farmer's Almanac).

This full moon also corresponds with autumnal and harvest festivals in Asia, including the Moon Festival and Mooncake Festival in China, and Chuseok, a harvest festival in Korea that's observed when city dwellers return to their hometowns to pay respect to the spirits of their ancestors, according to NASA.

Meanwhile, the blue moon will shine brightly at 9:49 a.m.

Venus and the star Regulus will appear at their closest this week, on Oct