Harvest Moon
Published on Sep 26, 2007 at 1:25 pm.
4 Comments.
Filed under astronomy, sky lore, skywatching.
Full Moon occurs today at 19:45 UT (2:45 pm Central Daylight Time). You may have gone out to look at the Moon the last few nights and thought that it looked full, but really it was not quite full. The Full Moon is defined by the moment that the Moon is most nearly directly opposite the Sun, as seen from Earth. At that time, the Moon rises as the Sun is setting. So, tonight you can expect the Moon to rise in the eastern sky just at sunset.
The Full Moon is bright. In fact, it is so bright that once you get a bit used to the level of illumination that it provides, you can even read by the light of the Moon. That means that for many things you can continue to go about some of your daytime activities by just the light of the Moon. It is no wonder, then, that many of the Full Moons have special names attached to them. I wrote about those names about a year and a half ago.
The Full Moon closest to the Autumnal Equinox is called the Harvest Moon. The name of the Full Moon closest to the equinox presumably is because farmers could continue to harvest by moonlight after sunset. This is about harvest time for the people who gave the Harvest Moon this name. The Autumnal Equinox for 2007 just occurred about three days ago. The Moon takes about 29.5 days to go through a complete cycle of phases, so the last Full Moon prior to today’s Full Moon was August 28, at which time there was a lunar eclipse (you can see my photos of it here). Well, clearly September 26 is closer to the September 23 equinox than is August 28, so tonight is the Harvest Moon. Note that it is the Full Moon closest to the equinox that is the Harvest Moon. That happens to be during September just over 4/5 of the time. However, about 1/5 of the time, the Full Moon closest to the equinox actually occurs during the first week of October, as it did last year. Since the Harvest Moon occurs in September most of the time, sometimes people who don’t know the rules for the Harvest Moon mistakenly think that the Full Moon of September is the Harvest Moon. The Full Moon that follows the Harvest Moon (which will be October 26 this year, at 04:52 UT) is called the Hunter’s Moon.
If you want to know more about the Moon and watching it, an excellent and inexpensive resource for the beginner or for teachers is Kim Long’s The Moon Book. I have an older edition of this book, and it is wonderful about explaining the phases of the Moon, eclipses, seeing the Moon, lunar calendars, and some Moon lore (including various names for the Full Moons). Long’s book includes some cool things about the Moon that I never see in textbooks. The newer edition here is even better. I recommend the book to anyone who wants something easy to read that tells about the Moon. The book is aimed at the complete novice, amateur astronomers, and perhaps teachers or students. Even if you know all about the Moon, it is a good read.
-Astroprof
Image Credit: Wikimedia
A Ler…-- Rastos de Luz on September 26, 2007 at 3:54 pm: 1
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Cindy Woloszyn on September 29, 2007 at 2:49 pm: 2
Dear Professor,
I don’t really understand 99.99% of your blog, but I find it interesting to read. I dabbled around with taking a couple of astrophysics classes when I was getting my EE degree at NC State. I was mostly really lost in the classes….just didn’t do so well…but I found the classes very interesting despite my very poor grades. So….I have no idea if you’ll answer me but what the heck…
Two questions:
1) I’m a new Mom to 2 25-month old twin girls (just adopted them from China). They are awesome. They seem to have a phenomenal interest…kinda bizarre…in stars and the moon and the sky etc. I have NO idea how to get the family involved in star-watching/gazing/etc. Do you have any advice? We really don’t have any resources in our little NC town. Love to hear your ideas, please…..
2) Secondly, does the concept of infinity bother you? I’m not kidding….I really am interested….Does it bother you? The thought that stars go on and on and on and on….How do you really get your head around that? For my entire life, I have found it simply astounding and then when I learned about PI and other numerical infinity series etc in school, it just all added up to more “bothersome” feelings….How do you personally reconcile it?
Thanks for even thinking of entertaining my questions. I appreciate it!
-CindyW from NC
http://www.doublelucky.blogspot.com
Astroprof on September 30, 2007 at 10:46 am: 3
Well, Cindy,
Congratulations on the adoption.
As to your second question, infinity doesn’t really bother me at all. I guess that I am used to the concept. Also, I suppose that my personal religious beliefs put it all into perspective for me. So, I accept the universe the way it is.
I got started in astronomy just be reading Astronomy Magazine and going out and looking at the sky. Now, there are starcharts and observing guides that you can find online, like at Sky and Telescope’s website . Also, there may be some amateur astronomers in the area, and many absolutely love to show off the sky to interested people. Sky and Telescope also has a list of many local astronomy clubs. If one isn’t very close, it may be worth a drive for one or two meetings to talk to them and see if they know of anything in your immediate area.
Hope that helps.
Paul Desmarais on January 14, 2008 at 11:00 am: 4
Professor:
I am interested in photographing the moon rising and have done so a number of times; but I keep wishing I had a way to know how to predict where in t he sky, say, by compass point, the moon will rise from day to day. Could you tell me how I might do this, and or tell me where to find such information?