2007 Harvest Moon shines on September 26
Contrary to legend, the Harvest Moon isn't really bigger, or brighter or yellower than other full moons. What's different about the Harvest Moon is that - every autumn - the moon's path across the sky makes a narrow angle with the evening horizon. It's simply a fact of nature, one with a beautiful result. The moon's path in autumn causes the full moon to rise near the time of sunset for several evenings in a row, appearing big, bright and yellow each night.
Photo:
maxedaperture
Wednesday, September 26.
No matter where you live, the moon will look round and full tonight as it rises in the east around sunset. This is the full Harvest Moon for us in the northern hemisphere.
Every month has a full moon, and all the full moons have names. The Harvest Moon is the name for the full moon closest to the September equinox, which came this year on September 23. This is the first full moon of autumn for us in this hemisphere. For the southern hemisphere, it’s the first full moon of spring.
The crest of the moon’s full phase comes today at precisely 19:45 Universal Time – that’s 2:24 p.m. in the central U.S. – and it’s the time when, for the entire Earth at once, the moon is most full. But, like all full moons, tonight’s Harvest Moon will ascend over the eastern horizon at sunset. Moonlight will fill the sky all night long. Farmers of old used the light of the Harvest Moon to gather their crops.
On average, the moon rises 50 minutes later each day. But – around the time of the Harvest Moon each autumn – the moon rises only about 30 minutes later each day. So farmers could continue working in the fields by moonlight. The difference springs from Earth’s tilt on its axis, the orbit of the moon around Earth, and the orbit of Earth around the sun.
Science News Headlines, brought to you by Earth & Sky
Get all your science news in one place.
At mid-northern latitudes, around the time of the Harvest Moon, the moon rises 25 to 30 minutes later daily. But even farther north – for example, in Anchorage, Alaska – the moon rises at the virtually same time from Wednesday, Sepember 26 through the weekend.
For the people in the southern hemisphere, the September 26 full moon is the closest full moon to the spring equinox. So the moon behaves in the opposite way in the southern hemisphere, in that the lag time between successive moonrises is at a maximum for the year, with the moon rising 75 to 80 minutes later nightly at mid-southern latitudes. North of the equator, where it’s autumn, the lag time between successive moonrises is at a minimum for the year, with the moon from one night to the next rising about 25 to 30 minutes later. Check the links below for the moonrise times in your part of the world!
Custom monthly calendar: sunrise/set and moonrise/set
Rising and setting times of the sun and moon by Old Farmer’s Almanac
Rising and setting times of the sun and moon by the US Naval Observatory
Say is this a good time to look at the moon with binoculars or will the moon be to bright?
Bob,
Yes, you’re right about looking at the full moon through binoculars. The glare is too bright for good viewing. The best views of the lunar landscape are along the terminator – the line that divides the lunar night from the lunar day. Alas, there is no terminator at full moon.
But it might be fun to watch the full moon rise through binoculars. When the moon is just above the horizon, the thickness of the atmosphere helps to filter out the full moon glare.
Good luck!
Bruce
O.K. this is the first time I will actually try and make a family tradition out of the “Harvest Moon”.( a little dinner celebration on the deck). I am on the east coast and want to know the best time to view the moon eastern time, and the earliest time it can be viewed by the naked eye? I will try and dig out my binoculars but just in case could you advise me of the best naked eye times?
Thank you- Maxine
Maxine,
For the East Coast of the US on Wednesday, Sept. 26, the moon will be rising in the east as the sun is setting in the west. Of course, this presumes a totally level horizon, as you have at sea. Note where the moon rises on your eastern horizon on Sept. 26, then note where the moon rises over your eastern horizon for the next several nights thereafter. You’ll see that the moon keeps rising north (or left) of where it did the night before. It’s this northward movement of the moonrise point along the horizon that causes the moon to rise much earlier than the average 50 minutes later per night.
Watch and see, and shine on Harvest Moon!
Bruce
P.S. Here is a great almanac that gives you the sunrise/set and moonrise/set times for your area. These rise/set times presume a level horizon without any obstructions (like trees, mountains, whatever). By definition, sunrise (or moonrise) means the top limb of the sun (or moon) is just touching the horizon. The sun’s (or moon’s) bottom limb won’t be above the horizon for another few minutes thereafter.
south Florida is great for watching the harvest moon. You can see it over the ocean.
Miami, how beautiful!
I got up at 2 a.m. this morning & almost freeked out! It was as if I could literaly touch the moon. I’ve never in my entire life can remember the moon so bright. I live in Rural OK, so I don’t miss a thing. Im going to wake the family up early so they can see the next night’s moon.
Faye,
Loved your story! With the Harvest Moon soon to come, we’ll have moonlit nights for the next several nights!
Bruce
tomorrow night is my 45th birthday and the harvest moon is going to be perfect to look out on in the new mexico desert sky…..
Pattycakes,
Happy Birthday!! The next full harvest moon to fall on your birthday will be in 19 years – on Sept. 26, 2026. To answer the Beatles’ song: yes, the harvest moon will remember to send you a birthday greeting when you’re 64!
Bruce
My first date with my now beautiful wife was to go watch the the harvest moon rise on a hilltop with wine and cheese. This is has been a tradition every year since our first date. In 95 we started dancing to Neil Young’s Harvest Moon song. Tonight we will be dancing, eating, drinking and watching from a hilltop at about 9000’ elevation with grand-kids in tow.
Bill
Bill, what a great first date. And obviously successful!
Congrats,
Deborah
Bill,
To watch the harvest moon rise from a mountain top, and to dance, eat and drink all the while. I can’t think of a better way to celebrate your loving relationship with your wife and family! It sounds like you and you wife became honeymooners on your first date with the harvest moon. I’ll bet your annual harvest moon celebration is what makes your marriage a life-long honeymoon!
My congratulations!
Bruce
Ha~ Ha~ In fact, Mid-Autumn Festival, a Chinese festival, has just passed. It is time for Chinese family getting together, eating mooncakes, having a barbecue at night, and admiring the full moon. There is a beautiful story about this Chinese festival. You can know it from the Wikipedia.
http://www.answers.com/Mid-Autumn%20Festival
June,
Thank you for telling us about the Chinese Mid-Autumn or Moon Cake Festival. I never knew about it till now. While doing a search, I happened to find these Chinese Moon Festival stories that Earth & Sky readers may find of interest.
Bruce
Playing guitar outdoors – I’ve always had a love affair with our celestial neighbor – and yes I break out Van Morrison’s “MoonDance” Here’s to the stirring in our soul that lets us know and remind us there is much more to life than our mundane concerns and that magic is a part of the mystery that the moon and stars gleefully reminds us everyday and every night!
Paul
Author-Journey Home
Bruce,
Thank you so much for that information about my birthday, it was a little birthday nugget that makes it all the more special.
Patty
Paul,
How well you give voice to our deeply-felt sentiments! I’m totally curious about your book Journey Home.
Bruce
Thanks for posting this Great Picture!
I just viewed the just past full Harvest moon (Thursday) rising again from Denver tonight. I was spectacularly white (not orange or red — which is only when it is near the horizon under the right conditions). It was rising through some high cirrus clouds and looked like something very appropriate for Halloween! It will be a little early for Hallween even next month, but should be as nice.
LS
Hi Larry.
I haven’t been able to watch the moonrises lately, because the harvest moon this year ushered in rain instead of moonlit nights. I won’t complain, though, because we’ve been suffering through a drought. Some dairy farmers even had to import water to keep their critters alive.
A month or two ago, my wife Alice and I watched a “white” moonrise, which took us both by surprise. We’re used to seeing the moon in its pumpkin-colored garb when it rises over the horizon. If it’s clear tonight, we’ll be paying special attention to color!
Bruce
Bruce,
Maybe it’s hazier in upstate NY than it is here in Denver, because it seems to me that moonrises (and moonsets) here typically are not orange, at least not except very low to the horizon. On the other hand I live in a little valley with a ridge to the east and trees to the west, so I don’t usually see the moon when it is very low to the horizon.
Larry
Finally, a crystal-clear night (Saturday, Sept. 29), and I’m watching the orange jack-o-lantern moon rising out the window as I type these words. It’s time to leave the computer screen and to go to the great outdoors!