2016's close and large Harvest Moon | Astronomy Essentials | EarthSky EarthSky’s 2017 lunar calendars are almost here! Harvest Moon sunset and moonrise – September 19, 2013 – as seen by EarthSky Facebook friend Andy Somers in Noumea, New Caledonia. One of the characteristics of the Harvest Moon is that it rises around the time of sunset for several evenings in a row. Thank you, Andy. What is a Harvest Moon? In skylore, the Harvest Moon is the full moon closest to the autumn equinox. Depending on the year, the Harvest Moon can come anywhere from two weeks before to two weeks after the autumn equinox. Harvest Moon is just a name. But this full moon has special characteristics, related to the time of moonrise. Nature is particularly cooperative in giving us full-looking moons near the horizon after sunset, for several evenings in a row, around the time of the Harvest Moon. Here’s what happens. On average, the moon rises about 50 minutes later each day.

But when a full moon happens close to the autumn equinox, the moon (at mid-temperate latitudes) rises only about 30 to 35 minutes later daily for several days before and after the full Harvest moon. It happens because the ecliptic – or the moon’s orbital path – makes a narrow angle with the evening horizon near the autumn equinox. The difference between 50 minutes and 35 minutes may not seem like much. But it means that, in the nights after the full Harvest Moon, at northerly latitudes, you’ll see the moon ascending in the east relatively soon after sunset. The moon will rise during or near twilight on these nights … making it seem as if there are several full moons – for a few nights in a row – around the time of the Harvest Moon. In autumn, the angle of the ecliptic – or sun and moon’s path – makes a narrow angle with the horizon. Image via classicalastronomy.com. The narrow angle of the ecliptic means the moon rises noticeably farther north on the horizon, from one night to the next. So there is no long period of darkness between sunset and moonrise. Image via classicalastronomy.com.

Amy Simpson-Wynne in Virginia posted this beautiful twilight photo of the Harvest Moon in 2013. Thank you, Amy! Best photos of past Harvest Moons . Is the Harvest Moon bigger, or brighter or more colorful? Not necessarily. It’s different every year. But the 2016 Harvest moon does count as a bigger-than-average full moon. That’s because this full moon is near perigee, the closest point to Earth in its monthly orbit. This full moon comes on September 16 at 1905 UTC; translate to your time zone . Perigee comes on September 18 around 1700 UTC . So it’s not the biggest possible moon on our sky’s dome, but it’s slightly bigger than usual. Still, in any year, you might think the Harvest Moon looks bigger or brighter or more orange. That’s because the Harvest Moon has such a powerful mystique. Many people look for it shortly after sunset around the time of full moon. After sunset around any full moon, the moon will always be near the horizon. It’ll just have risen.

It’s the location of the moon near the horizon that causes the Harvest Moon – or any full moon – to look big and orange in color. The orange color of a moon near the horizon is a true physical effect. It stems from the fact that – when you look toward the horizon – you are looking through a greater thickness of Earth’s atmosphere than when you gaze up and overhead. The atmosphere scatters blue light – that’s why the sky looks blue. The greater thickness of atmosphere in the direction of a horizon scatters blue light most effectively, but it lets red light pass through to your eyes. So a moon near the horizon takes on a yellow or orange or reddish hue. The bigger-than-usual size of a moon seen near the horizon is something else entirely. It’s a trick that your eyes are playing – an illusion – called the Moon Illusion. You can find many lengthy explanations of the Moon Illusion by googling those words yourself. Is this Harvest Moon a supermoon ? That depends on your definition of supermoon. Read about the disagreement on whether the 2016 Harvest Moon is a supermoon, here .

Day and night sides of Earth at the instant of full moon (2016 September 19 at 19:05 Universal Time) via Earth and Moon Viewer . Which night is the 2016 Harvest Moon for me? The full Harvest Moon for 2016 falls on September 16 or September 17, depending on your location on the globe. It happens on September 16 at 1905 UTC . In North America, the crest of the moon’s full phase comes on September 16, at 3:05 p.m. EDT, 2:05 p.m CDT, 1:05 p.m. MDT or 12:05 p.m. PDT. Although the full moon happens during the daylight hours for the Americas, and is still below the horizon at this full moon instant, we can still say the Harvest Moon comes on the night of September 16-17. But the moon might look equally full to your eye on the night of September 15-16, or the night of September 17-18.

Meanwhile, in the world’s Eastern Hemisphere – Africa, Europe and Asia, Indonesia and Australia – the moon is above the horizon at the instant the moon turns full at 1905 UTC . The Mid-Autumn Festival in Asia is linked to this full moon. No matter where you are on Earth, a brilliant full-looking moon ascends over your eastern horizon around the time of sunset on September 16. It climbs highest in the sky around the middle of the night, when the sun is below your feet. That’s because the moon lies opposite the sun in our sky at the vicinity of full moon. Being opposite the sun, the moon is showing us its fully lighted hemisphere, or “day” side. That’s what makes the moon look full. Who can see the Harvest Moon penumbral eclipse? The moon will reach the crest of its full phase on September 16 at 19:05 Universal Time , to undergo a faint penumbral eclipse in the world’s Eastern Hemisphere . For us in North America, though, the moon will be beneath our horizon as it turns exactly full during our daylight hours, so we will miss out on the September 16 penumbral lunar eclipse.

See the worldwide map below, and read more about this eclipse at EclipseWise . View larger . The subtle penumbral lunar eclipse on September 16, 2016 is not visible from North America. Although the moon sweeps through the Earth’s penumbral (light) shadow from 16:55 to 20:54 Universal Time , your best bet for actually witnessing this faint penumbral lunar eclipse is around mid-eclipse, which takes place at 18:54 UT. Harvest Moon over the Santa Catalina Mountains of southern Arizona, via Randall Kayfes. How did the Harvest Moon get its name? The shorter-than-usual lag time between moonrises around the full Harvest Moon means no long period of darkness between sunset and moonrise for days in succession. In the days before tractor lights, the lamp of the Harvest Moon helped farmers to gather their crops, despite the diminishing daylight hours. As the sun’s light faded in the west, the moon would soon rise in the east to illuminate the fields throughout the night. Who named the Harvest Moon? That name probably sprang to the lips of farmers throughout the Northern Hemisphere, on autumn evenings, as the Harvest Moon aided in bringing in the crops.

The name was popularized in the early 20th century by the song below. Shine On Harvest Moon By Nora Bayes and Jack Norworth (1903) Shine on, shine on harvest moon Up in the sky, I ain’t had no lovin’ Since January, February, June or July Snow time ain’t no time to stay Outdoors and spoon, So shine on, shine on harvest moon, For me and my gal. And don’t miss this more recent version of the song by Leon Redbone. When is the Southern Hemisphere’s Harvest Moon? For the Southern Hemisphere, the autumn equinox falls in March. So the Southern Hemisphere always has a full moon with these same characteristics – rising shortly after sunset for several nights in a row – in March or April. What are some other full moon names? Every full moon has a name. The names vary in cultures around the world, and they particularly vary between the Northern and Southern Hemispheres. One of the most famous full moon names – other than Harvest Moon – is Hunter’s Moon. That’s the name for the full moon after the Harvest Moon. For the Northern Hemisphere, this year’s Hunter’s Moon comes on October 16. Read more about full moon names here.

Bottom line: Here in the Northern Hemisphere, we call the closest full moon to the autumn equinox the Harvest Moon. In 2016, the September equinox comes on September 22. So this hemisphere’s Harvest Moon is the full moon of September 16. Full Moon Names and Their Meanings - Farmers' Almanac Email Address: Verify Email: Thank you! You're all set to receive updates from the us! To make sure you receive our emails properly, you may want to add newsletter@farmersalmanac.com to your email address book. You are here: Home » Full Moon Names and Their Meanings Full Moon Names and Their Meanings Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Add to Google+ Share on Pinterest Subscribe by Email Print This Post Full Moon names date back to Native Americans, of what is now the northern and eastern United States. The tribes kept track of the seasons by giving distinctive names to each recurring full Moon. Their names were applied to the entire month in which each occurred. There was some variation in the Moon names, but in general, the same ones were current throughout the Algonquin tribes from New England to Lake Superior. European settlers followed that custom and created some of their own names.

Since the lunar month is only 29 days long on the average, the full Moon dates shift from year to year. Here is the Farmers Almanac’s list of the full Moon names. – Full Wolf Moon – January Amid the cold and deep snows of midwinter, the wolf packs howled hungrily outside Indian villages. Thus, the name for January’s full Moon. Sometimes it was also referred to as the Old Moon, or the Moon After Yule. Some called it the Full Snow Moon, but most tribes applied that name to the next Moon. – Full Snow Moon – February Since the heaviest snow usually falls during this month, native tribes of the north and east most often called February’s full Moon the Full Snow Moon. Some tribes also referred to this Moon as the Full Hunger Moon, since harsh weather conditions in their areas made hunting very difficult. – Full Worm Moon – March As the temperature begins to warm and the ground begins to thaw, earthworm casts appear, heralding the return of the robins.

The more northern tribes knew this Moon as the Full Crow Moon, when the cawing of crows signaled the end of winter; or the Full Crust Moon, because the snow cover becomes crusted from thawing by day and freezing at night. The Full Sap Moon, marking the time of tapping maple trees, is another variation. To the settlers, it was also known as the Lenten Moon, and was considered to be the last full Moon of winter. – Full Pink Moon – April This name came from the herb moss pink, or wild ground phlox, which is one of the earliest widespread flowers of the spring. Other names for this month’s celestial body include the Full Sprouting Grass Moon, the Egg Moon, and among coastal tribes the Full Fish Moon, because this was the time that the shad swam upstream to spawn. – Full Flower Moon – May In most areas, flowers are abundant everywhere during this time. Thus, the name of this Moon. Other names include the Full Corn Planting Moon, or the Milk Moon. – Full Strawberry Moon – June This name was universal to every Algonquin tribe. However, in Europe they called it the Rose Moon.

Also because the relatively short season for harvesting strawberries comes each year during the month of June . . . so the full Moon that occurs during that month was christened for the strawberry! – The Full Buck Moon – July July is normally the month when the new antlers of buck deer push out of their foreheads in coatings of velvety fur. It was also often called the Full Thunder Moon, for the reason that thunderstorms are most frequent during this time. Another name for this month’s Moon was the Full Hay Moon. – Full Sturgeon Moon – August The fishing tribes are given credit for the naming of this Moon, since sturgeon, a large fish of the Great Lakes and other major bodies of water, were most readily caught during this month. A few tribes knew it as the Full Red Moon because, as the Moon rises, it appears reddish through any sultry haze. It was also called the Green Corn Moon or Grain Moon. – Full Corn Moon or Full Harvest Moon – September This full moon’s name is attributed to Native Americans because it marked when corn was supposed to be harvested. Most often, the September full moon is actually the Harvest Moon, which is the full Moon that occurs closest to the autumn equinox.

In two years out of three, the Harvest Moon comes in September, but in some years it occurs in October. At the peak of harvest, farmers can work late into the night by the light of this Moon. Usually the full Moon rises an average of 50 minutes later each night, but for the few nights around the Harvest Moon, the Moon seems to rise at nearly the same time each night: just 25 to 30 minutes later across the U.S., and only 10 to 20 minutes later for much of Canada and Europe. Corn, pumpkins, squash, beans, and wild rice the chief Indian staples are now ready for gathering. – Full Hunter’s Moon or Full Harvest Moon – October This full Moon is often referred to as the Full Hunter’s Moon, Blood Moon, or Sanguine Moon. Many moons ago, Native Americans named this bright moon for obvious reasons. The leaves are falling from trees, the deer are fattened, and it’s time to begin storing up meat for the long winter ahead. Because the fields were traditionally reaped in late September or early October, hunters could easily see fox and other animals that come out to glean from the fallen grains.

Probably because of the threat of winter looming close, the Hunter’s Moon is generally accorded with special honor, historically serving as an important feast day in both Western Europe and among many Native American tribes. – Full Beaver Moon – November This was the time to set beaver traps before the swamps froze, to ensure a supply of warm winter furs. Another interpretation suggests that the name Full Beaver Moon comes from the fact that the beavers are now actively preparing for winter. It is sometimes also referred to as the Frosty Moon. – The Full Cold Moon; or the Full Long Nights Moon – December During this month the winter cold fastens its grip, and nights are at their longest and darkest. It is also sometimes called the Moon before Yule. The term Long Night Moon is a doubly appropriate name because the midwinter night is indeed long, and because the Moon is above the horizon for a long time. The midwinter full Moon has a high trajectory across the sky because it is opposite a low Sun.

'Super Harvest Moon:' Autumnal Equinox, Jupiter Opposition Come at Same Time - ABC News ABC News Autumnal Equinox: First Day of Fall Greeted by Full Moon By NED POTTER WATCH Probe Finds Large Amount of Water on Moon 0 Shares Email Tonight is a night of celestial coincidences. The autumnal equinox -- the beginning of fall -- comes at 11:09 p.m. ET, and for the first time in 19 years, it comes on the same night as a full moon, the one known as the Harvest Moon. And for good measure, if you are blessed with clear skies tonight, you will see an unusually bright star right near the moon. It's actually not a star at all; it's the planet Jupiter at "opposition," coming closer to the earth than at any time since 1963. There's no real magic to all this, just the bodies of the solar system doing what they do as they follow the rules of orbital mechanics. But there is a pleasant effect on us earthlings, if we pause to enjoy the combination.

A quick review of the key terms at play here: Equinox: the moment when the Sun appears to pass directly over the earth's equator -- in this case southbound as we move from summer to fall. It happens twice a year; if you like warm weather, you may prefer the vernal equinox next March 20, when winter will give way to spring. Opposition: In this case it has nothing to do with Barack Obama or Sarah Palin -- instead, it is the term astronomers use for the moment when one body appears to be directly opposite another in the sky as seen from earth. Jupiter was at opposition to the sun at about 5 p.m. ET on Sunday, and is still very close to it. If you were able to hover directly above or below the ecliptic -- the giant plane of the earth's orbit -- you would be able to draw a straight line from the sun to the earth to Jupiter. Oppositions of Jupiter are routine. Jupiter orbits the sun once every 11.9 earth years, so we on earth overtake the planet in our closer orbit once every 13 months or so. At oposition, Jupiter hovers highest in the sky right around midnight.

And this is our closest encounter with it each year. Autumnal Equinox: Harvest Moon Greets First Day of Fall But as astronomer Tony Phillips put it, "not all close encounters are the same." Phillips writes about the heavens for a website called Science@NASA . Jupiter's orbit is slightly elliptical -- it can be as much as 5.4 times as far from the sun as we are, or as little as 4.95. Right now it's at that near point, known as perihelion. "This makes a difference of 75 million km [about 45 million miles]!" Phillips said in an e-mail. On Sunday, at closest approach, Jupiter was 368 million miles from Earth, and for several weeks it will appear to be the brightest object in the sky after the sun, moon and Venus -- three times brighter than Sirius, the brightest star, which is best seen in the evening sky in winter. Harvest Moon: Native American tribes gave names to each of the dozen full moons of the year, and the list now is maintained by the Farmer's Almanac . The Harvest Moon is the one closest to the beginning of fall. It's time for the crops to come in.

Just for the record, the next full moon is referred to by the almanac as the Beaver Moon, though it's also called the Hunter's Moon or Blood Moon. Time to set your traps if you need furs for the winter. Moon Illusion: This last term is the one that perhaps does have a touch of magic to it. If you go out tonight just after sunset, and are lucky enough to have good weather and a clear view of the horizon, you'll see the moon, pumpkin-colored, slowly rising in the east -- and, boy, does it look large. It is, in fact, no larger in the sky than when it's overhead, but our minds fool us, perhaps because we have a reference point -- something on the horizon -- that we lack when it is high among the stars. "For instance," said Phillips, "when you see the moon in close proximity to a tree, your brain will miscalculate the distance to the moon, mentally bringing it closer (like the tree) and thus making it bigger. It seems so real, but this beautiful illusion is all in our minds." It's a quiet, pleasant show that the heavens put on tonight.

If the weather favors you, you will literally get to see the stars align. 0 Shares Autumnal Equinox: Why First Day of Fall 2010 Is Different Autumnal Equinox: Why First Day of Fall 2010 Is Different Full moon to shine on autumnal equinox 2010—first time since 1991. View Images The full moon shines behind Michigan's Ludington Lighthouse in October 2001. Photograph by Jeff Kiessel, Ludington Daily News/AP For the first time since 1991, the full moon will shed light on the beginning of fall—the Northern Hemisphere's autumnal equinox, which in 2010 officially begins Wednesday at 11:13 pm ET. Related Content This Week’s Night Sky: See the Red Planet for Yourself Video: Equinox Balances Day and Night "The full moon closest to the September equinox [is] the traditional definition of the harvest moon," said Alan MacRobert , an amateur astronomer and senior editor at Sky & Telescope magazine in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

"And you can't get any closer to the September equinox than this." The moon is set to rise on the autumnal equinox at 6:27 p.m. ET, though—sticklers, take note—it won't officially be full until 5:17 am ET on September 23, a handful of hours past the start of fall. (Take National Geographic's moon quiz. ) MacRobert said the full moon falling on the autumnal equinox is simply one of many astronomical coincidences that happen to be occurring this month. The planet Jupiter got the closest it's been to Earth since 1963 on Monday , and Uranus passed right behind Jupiter on the 17th, he noted. "If you are into conspiracy theories … you may think, Oh my gosh, the heavens are conspiring—something big is going to happen," he said. "No, it's not." (See pictures of fall in the United States .) Autumnal Equinox Illusions Don't be fooled by the notion that on the autumnal equinox the length of day is exactly equal to the length of night.

The true days of day-night equality always fall after the autumnal equinox and before the vernal, or spring, equinox, according to Geoff Chester, a public affairs specialist with the U.S. Naval Observatory in Washington, D.C. The difference is a matter of geometry, atmosphere, and language. Day and night would each be exactly 12 hours long on a spring or fall equinox only if the sun were a single point of light and Earth had no atmosphere. But the sun, as seen from Earth, is nearly as large as a little fingertip held at arm's length—a size known to astronomers as half a degree wide. Sunrise is defined as the moment the top edge of the sun appears to peek over the horizon. Sunset is when the very last bit of the sun appears to dip below the horizon. The vernal and autumnal equinoxes, meanwhile, occur when the center of the sun's disk crosses what's known as the celestial equator, an imaginary line that projects outward from Earth's Equator, Chester noted. What's more, Earth's atmosphere bends sunlight when it's close to the horizon, making the sun appear to rise a few minutes earlier than it actually does.

"Those factors all combine to make the day of the equinox not the day when we have 12 hours [each] of light and darkness," Chester said. Autumnal Equinox Special Nonetheless The length of day and night may not be equal on the equinox, but that doesn't make the first day of fall any less special. (Related blog: "Saturn Equinox Arrives." ) The spring and autumnal equinoxes, for starters, are the only two times during the year when the sun rises due east and sets due west, according to MacRobert. The autumnal equinox and vernal—or spring—equinox are also the only days of the year when a person standing on the Equator can see the sun passing directly overhead. On the Northern Hemisphere's autumnal equinox day, a person at the North Pole would see the sun skimming across the horizon, signaling the start of six months of darkness. On the same day, a person at the South Pole would also see the sun skim the horizon, beginning six months of uninterrupted daylight.

Autumnal Equinox: Day-Night Split Most people will never see the full 12 hours of sunup and sundown on the autumnal equinox, noted Judith Young , a professor of astronomy at the University of Massachusetts in Amherst. That's because most people have hills or trees blocking their views of a flat horizon. Thus, they see the sun rise later and set earlier than it does for a horizon without obstruction, she said. What's more, for people who don't live on the Equator, the sun still rises and sets at an angle to the horizon, noted Young, who built a Stonehenge-like solar calendar and observatory on the University of Massachusetts campus. Even though the sun rises due east and sets due west on the autumnal equinox, "you'll only see an east sun rising and west sun setting with an obstruction-free horizon," Young said. The autumnal equinox and vernal equinox aren't even midway between the solstices, which are the days of greatest and least light of the year, she added. "That comes about because the Earth's orbit is not a true circle. We have a slightly elliptical orbit," she said.

The elongated orbit means that Earth goes faster around the sun in January, when it is closest to the star, than it does when it is farthest away from the sun in July. "We arrive at the September equinox a day late, because we were going a little bit slower in July, and we arrive at the March equinox a day earlier," Young said. Equinox Oddity Another equinox oddity: A rule of the calendar keeps spring almost always arriving on March 20 or 21—but sometimes on the 19th—Sky & Telescope's MacRobert said. (See related pictures: "Spring Equinox Marked With Fire, Druids, More." ) In 1582 Pope Gregory XIII established the Gregorian calendar, which most of the world now observes, to account for an equinox inconvenience. If the pope hadn't established the new calendar, every 128 years the spring equinox would have come a full calendar day earlier, eventually putting Easter in chilly midwinter. "It begins with the fact that there is not an exact number of days in a year," MacRobert said. Before the pope's intervention, the Romans and much of the European world marked time on the Julian calendar.

Instituted by Julius Caesar, the old calendar counted exactly 365.25 days a year, averaged over a four-year cycle. Every four years a leap day helped keep things on track. It turns out, however, that there are 365.24219 days in an astronomical "tropical" year—defined as the time it takes the sun, as seen from Earth, to make one complete circuit of the sky. Using the Julian calendar, the autumnal equinox, vernal equinox, and seasons were arriving 11 minutes earlier each year. By 1500 the spring equinox had fallen back to March 11. To fix the problem, the pope decreed that most century years (such as 1700, 1800, and 1900) would not be leap years. But century years divisible by 400, like 2000, would be leap years. Under the Gregorian calendar, the year is 365.2425 days long, "close enough to the true fraction that the seasons don't drift," MacRobert said.

With an average duration of 365.2425 days, Gregorian years are now only 27 seconds longer than the length of the tropical year—an error which will allow the gain of one day over a period of about 3,200 years. Nowadays, according to the U.S. Naval Observatory's Chester, equinoxes migrate through a period that occurs about six hours later from calendar year to calendar year, due to the leap year cycle. The system resets every leap year, slipping a little bit backward until a non-leap century year nudges the equinoxes forward in time once again. Comment on This Story Shine on, Harvest Moon: Red supermoon lights up night sky, 3rd this summer (PHOTOS) — RT News Tags Space , NASA , Science The supermoon was calculated to be about 50,000 kilometers closer to Earth than when it is at its furthest point, known as its “apogee.” "Because the moon is at perigee, or the closest point of its orbit, it's going to be about 13 or 14 percent bigger, optically, and ...

about 30 percent brighter," Philip Erikson, principal research scientist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Haystack Observatory outside Boston, told Reuters. This moon is also called the Harvest Moon, which means that the full moon is the closest to the autumn equinox, on September 23. The term Harvest Moon comes from the days when farmers relied on moonlight to tend to their crops during the night. "Whether we call this a super Harvest Moon or a Harvest supermoon, and whether we fuss over the fact that lunar perigee happened just one night before this moon was full, there's no denying that it's the Harvest Moon," Slooh astronomer Bob Berman said in a statement, reported Space.com, space and astronomy news website. — Shoko(쇼코) (@BLAQLady99) September 9, 2014 "This is the year's most famous full moon, and one of only two that even have a name. Yet it's bathed in myth and misconception even without all the extra 'supermoon' business. It will be fun to explore the true secrets of the Harvest Moon while watching it live," Berman added.

The Harvest Moon usually marks the beginning of autumn, but this time the giant moon is falling early and is considered as the last full moon of the summer 2014. The moon got its full phase when it reached the spot in the sky opposite from the sun. That moment occurred Monday at 0138 GMT. According to the scientists, September supermoon is redder than usual at moonrise as its angle of rise is low. Brightest in 20 years: Spectacular ISS pics of Sunday’s supermoon "It's a good reason to look up, because it's a good, bright, full moon," said Amanda Thompson at the Boston Museum of Science's Hayden Planetarium. "You will be able to see the maria on the moon, which are the dark, smooth areas.

Those are cooled-off lava flows." Autumn equinoxes | Article about autumn equinoxes by The Free Dictionary Autumn equinoxes | Article about autumn equinoxes by The Free Dictionary Date of Observation: September 22 or 23 Where Celebrated: All over the world Symbols and Customs: Balance of Light and Dark, Full Moon, Harvest Feasts Related Holidays: Harvest Home, Higan, Mabon, Michaelmas, Mid-Autumn Festival ORIGINS The English word equinox comes from the Latin word equinoxium, meaning "time of equal days and nights." The word equinox refers to the two days of the year when night and day are equally long, the autumn equinox and the VERNAL EQUINOX . In the northern hemisphere, the autumn equinox occurs on September 22 or 23 and marks the beginning of the fall season. From this day forth the days will grow shorter and shorter until the time of WINTER SOLSTICE. After that time, the days will grow longer, but they will still be shorter than the nights until the arrival of the VERNAL EQUINOX on March 21 or March 22.

This BALANCE OF LIGHT AND DARK occurs only on the equinoxes. The equinoxes are also marked by other interesting celestial occurrences. Since ancient times, people who watched the sky have noticed that the sun's daily path across it varies throughout the year. The sun traces an arc that falls lower in the sky, or further south, in the fall and winter, and higher in the sky, or further north, in the spring and summer. Although the sun always rises in an easterly direction, and sets in a westerly direction, the equinoxes are the only days on which the sun rises due east and sets due west. Moreover, on the equinoxes, the sun passes directly overhead in the equatorial zones. In astronomical terms, this happens because the ecliptic intersects the celestial equator, an imaginary line in the heavens that represents a projection of the earth's equator onto the dome of the sky. The ecliptic is the name scientists have given to the plane in which the earth and the other planets of our solar system orbit the sun. When the ecliptic and the celestial equator meet, the sun crosses directly overhead in the equatorial zones.

In the northern hemisphere the autumn equinox marks the beginning of fall and the vernal equinox marks the beginning of spring. In the southern hemisphere, the September equinox kicks off the beginning of spring, and the March equinox the beginning of autumn. This difference in the seasons between the two hemispheres is caused by the fact that the earth does not rotate on an axis that runs perpendicular to the line joining the earth and sun. Instead, the earth's axis is tilted twentythree degrees in one direction. As the earth moves through its yearly rotation around the sun, this tilt points the northern hemisphere towards the sun during one half of the year and the southern hemisphere towards the sun during the other half. The resulting difference in the exposure to the sun's light causes the differences in the length of days and nights. The equinoxes mark the two days of the year on which the earth's tilt results in equal exposure to sunlight and darkness all around the globe. As the earth moves past the September equinox, the northern hemisphere enters that half of the year when the earth's tilt points it away from the sun. Hence the days will be shorter than the nights.

The Autumn Equinox marks the changing of the seasons, which people in all parts of the world have honored since ancient times. Many cultures divided the year into two seasons, summer and winter, and marked these points of the year at or near the summer and winter solstices, during which light and warmth began to increase and decrease, respectively. In pre-industrial times, humans survived through hunting, gathering, and agricultural practices, which depend on the natural cycle of seasons, according to the climate in the region of the world in which they lived. Thus, they created rituals to help ensure enough rain and sun in the spring and summer so crops would grow to fruition at harvest time, which was, in turn, duly celebrated. Vestiges of many of these ancient practices are thought to have survived in festivals still celebrated around seasonal themes. The earliest observation of the equinoxes can be traced back to ancient times. Archeologists have discovered that some of Great Britain and Ireland's prehistoric stone monuments are aligned in special ways with the equinoxes and solstices. These structures were built several thousand years before the time of Christ (between 4000 and 1500 B . C . E .).

Halfway around the world in South America, the ancient Mayan peoples also built great rock structures aligned to the movements of the sun. The great pyramid of Chichen Itza, for example, located in Mexico, casts a striking serpent-shaped shadow on the day of the spring equinox. Other Mayan structures line up perfectly with the autumn equinox. Archeologists speculate about the importance of these dates to ancient astronomers and priests, but no one knows how they were observed or celebrated by ordinary people. SYMBOLS AND CUSTOMS Balance of Light and Dark The balance of light and dark that occurs on the autumn equinox is a prominent feature of many celebrations. For example, the celebration of MABON calls attention to natural phenomena that characterize the fall, such as the growing darkness, cooler weather, and decline in nature's fertility. The Christian observance of MICHAELMAS contains similar themes. This feast honors the archangel Michael, who strengthens the weak and protects the fearful. Old traditions recommend calling on Michael for aid in battle and for the power to resist the devil. His feast day, September 29, comes just as the nights are becoming longer than the days.

This is the perfect time to remember Michael, who fights against the forces of darkness, inspires strength, and confers courage. In Japan, some people observe a Buddhist ceremony known as HIGAN at the time of the autumn and spring equinoxes. The balance of light and dark on these dates is thought to represent the balance between this world and the next. In the ceremonies performed for this holiday, the living pay respects to the dead and clean family graves. Full Moon People the world over have noticed that the full moon that occurs around this time of year appears to be larger and rounder than other full moons. This appearance has generated much folklore and myth. Scientists today, however, know that the moon's apparent change in size is an optical illusion. In the U.S. the full moon closest to the autumn equinox is known as the Harvest Moon. In past times, when farmers did not have a lot of machinery to rely upon, they often had to work late in the month of September to finish the harvest. Nature aided them by providing them with a special kind of full moon at that time of year.

First, the full moon closest to the autumn equinox generally rises just as the light of sun is fading, permitting farmers to continue their work into the early evening. In addition, near the time of the autumn equinox, the time between each day's moonrise shortens considerably. This means that during the two days that follow the full moon, moonrise would also occur fairly early in the evening. The full moon closest to the September equinox was so handy to farmers that they dubbed it the Harvest Moon. In many Asian countries, people celebrate a holiday known as the MID-AUTUMN FESTIVAL near the time of the autumn equinox. This holiday revolves around the celebration of the full moon that occurs at this time of year. People make time to go outside and enjoy the beauty of the moon and give thanks for the fall harvest. Harvest Feasts In the British Isles, an old folk holiday called HARVEST HOME took place around the time of the September equinox. In times gone by, when people harvested wheat, corn, and other crops by hand, the harvest occupied just about everyone in the village. So, when the villagers finished the last of the grain harvest, they celebrated with a communal feast.

This traditional celebration continues today, though modern farm machinery has advanced the date of the holiday into August. The HARVEST HOME celebration is thought to have inspired both the American THANKSGIVING holiday and the Canadian Harvest Festival. In addition to the continuing celebration of HARVEST HOME, some groups of people interested in reconnecting with ancient religions have revived the celebration of the equinox itself. Neopagans and Wiccans, people who follow a natureoriented religion loosely linked to ancient pagan beliefs and inspired by old European folk practices, often celebrate the Autumn Equinox. Some of them call the holiday MABON, after an old Celtic legend that they associate with the day. Their celebrations often feature an autumn feast consisting of foods representing the late summer and early fall harvest. FURTHER READING Brennan, Martin. The Stones of Time: Calendars, Sundials and Stone Chambers of Ancient Ireland. Rochester, VT: Inner Traditions, 1994. Cabot, Laurie. Celebrate the Earth: A Year of Holidays in the Pagan Tradition. New York: Delta, 1994. Henderson, Helene, ed. Holidays, Festivals and Celebrations of the World Dictionary. 3rd ed.

Detroit: Omnigraphics, 2005. Krupp, E.C., ed. In Search of Ancient Astronomies. New York: Doubleday, 1978. Urlin, Ethel. Festivals, Holy Days, and Saints' Days. 1915. Reprint. Detroit: Omnigraphics, 1990. WEB SITES NASA Science News Department science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2000/ast11sep_2.htm University of California at Berkeley's Center for Science Education cse.ssl.berkeley.edu/lessons/indiv/beth/beth_intro.html Harvest Moon moon Most full moons have folklore names - Hay Moon, Fruit Moon, etc. - essentially forming a twelve month calendar for an agricultural world. Tonight's full moon, the Harvest Moon, also has an astronomical significance. The Moon rises roughly 50 minutes later every day. However, this is an average figure, and near the vernal and autumnal equinoxes the actual time difference is furthest from the average.

In Spring, as seen from mid-northern latitudes, the Moon can rise as much as 90 minutes later each night, but in the Autumn the figure can drop to as little as 14 minutes. In the southern hemisphere the situation is reversed. A full moon, because it is directly on the opposite side of the Earth to the Sun, always rises at about sunset and sets around sunrise. At the time of the vernal equinox, roughly 22 nd September, the period of darkness between sunset and moonrise remains small for up to a week after the full moon. Conveniently, this happens at exactly the time when farmers are working round the clock to harvest their crops - a huge boon in the days before electric lights - so the full moon closest to the equinox become known as the Harvest Moon. The precise date varies between the second week in September and the first week in October. Harvest Moon History, Origin, Name, Dates, Calendars and Info Harvest Moon admin 2016-01-19T00:23:59+00:00 Harvest Moon Name Origin What is a Harvest Moon ? The full moon that appears in September is called the Harvest Moon.

The most familiar named moon, September’s Harvest Moon refers to the time of year after the autumn equinox when crops were gathered by Native Americans. Corn, pumpkins, squash, beans, and wild rice are the chief Native American staples that were ready for gathering. It also refers to the Harvest Moon’s particularly bright appearance and early rise, which lets farmers continue harvesting into the night. Usually the full Moon rises an average of 50 minutes later each night, but for the few nights around the Harvest Moon, the Moon seems to rise at nearly the same time each night: just 25 to 30 minutes later across the U.S., and only 10 to 20 minutes later for much of Canada and Europe. Harvest Moon and Autumn Equinox The Harvest Moon does not always occur in September. Traditionally, the name goes to the full moon closest to the autumn equinox, which falls during October once or twice a decade. Harvest Moon Name Variations The Harvest Moon of September is sometimes referred to as the the Corn Moon or the Barley Moon. When is the next Harvest Moon? The Harvest Moon dates are expressed in Coordinated Universal Time (UT), the international basis for other time zones.

Since the lunar month is only 29 days long on the average, the full moon dates shift from year to year. For Harvest Moon times in your city, please use the Time Zone Converter . You may also simply subtract five (5) hours to get to U.S. Eastern Time. Full Moon Star Party: Total Lunar Eclipse Viewing #2 | OMSI Star Party: Total Lunar Eclipse Viewing #2 Located at: UPDATE (9/27/15) | Clear sky is forecasted for tonight's OMSI Star Party - Total Lunar Eclipse Viewing at OMSI, located on 1945 SE Water Ave. Program starts at 6:30 pm. Come join the fun! Parking is FREE For This Event Triple Treat For September's Full Moon On Sunday, September 27th, there will be a triple treat for September's full moon. Known as the Harvest Moon or full moon nearest the September equinox. this full moon happens to be the closest supermoon of 2015. And there is a total eclipse of the moon on the same evening. A triple treat!

The Full Harvest Moon will rise at 6:55PM from the east, with the sun setting at 6:59PM. The orange color of a moon near the horizon is a true physical effect. When looking toward the horizon, we are actually looking through a greater thickness of Earth's atmosphere than when looking directly overhead. The atmosphere scatters blue light (the reason the sky looks blue). The thickness of the atmosphere in the direction of a horizon scatters blue light most effectively, but it lets red light pass through. So a moon near the horizon takes on a yellow, orange or reddish hue. The Moon may actually appear be darker shade of red/orange due to the increase particles in the upper atmosphere from the summer fires around the Pacific Northwest. The larger-than-usual size of a moon seen near the horizon is a trick your eyes play on you, called "the moon illusion." This illusion has puzzled sky watchers for millenia, but scientists still aren't sure of an exact explanation. NASA's Science News website explains, "when you look at the Moon, rays of moonlight converge and form an image about 0.15 mm wide on the retina in the back of your eye.

High moons and low moons make the same sized spot, yet the brain insists one is bigger than the other." Before the advent of artificial lighting, our ancestors were acutely aware of the daylight hours' waning more rapidly around the autumnal equinox - the time when the Sun rises due east and sets due west - than at any other time of year. It was also critical to understand lunar behavior in order to take advantage of the light of the full Moon to finish harvesting crops. A so-called "Super Moon" occurs when the full Moon reaches its closest point to Earth in its orbit, also known as perigee. This will be the largest full moon of 2015. Will reach perigee on September 27 at 5:46 p.m., at a distance of 221,753 miles from Earth. The word perigee describes the Moon's closest point in its orbit around Earth. Full moons vary in size because of the elliptical (oval) shape of the Moon's orbit. The point of perigee is about 31,068 miles closer to Earth than the point of apogee, or farthest distance.

The Moon's distance at perigee changes by 3% over a period of 18.6 years, but in general while at perigee, a full moon would appear about 14% bigger and 30% brighter than a corresponding full moon at apogee, but it's not really all that much more dramatic than a regular full moon. There's more! The September 27th full moon will have its own special show, a total lunar eclipse! The full moon will slide through the dark shadow of the Earth, and for 72 minutes the only light hitting the Moon will be the reddish glow from Earth's sunrises and sunsets resulting in a total lunar eclipse. The totality begins at 7:11 p.m. with the point of the greatest eclipse occurring at 7:47PM. The eclipse’s total phase will last for 72 minutes, ends at 8:21 p.m.. The Moon will be just 8 degrees above the eastern horizon at the instant of the greatest eclipse. Finally, the partial eclipse ends at 9:27PM.

Unlike solar eclipses in which the Sun's rays can damage the eyes, lunar eclipses are safe to watch with the naked eye. Lunar eclipses are unique in that no one can predict what color the Moon will turn during totality. Binoculars and telescopes will enhance the view. 5:46PM | Perigee at a distance of 221,753 miles from Earth. 6:55PM | Full moon rise. 6:07PM | Partial umbral eclipse begins. 7:11PM | Total eclipse begins. 8:23PM | Total eclipse ends. 9:27PM | Partial eclipse ends. OMSI will host the second of two lunar eclipse viewings in 2015 on Sunday evening, September 27. That evening the full moon will slide through the dark shadow of the Earth and for 72 minutes the only light hitting the Full Harvest Moon will be a reddish glow from all of Earth’s sunrises and sunsets resulting in a total lunar eclipse. Weather permitting; a free viewing of the eclipse will begin at 6:30PM at OMSI South Parking.

The Rose City Astronomers, and OMSI will have telescopes set up for attendees to use. OMSI Space Science Director, Jim Todd, will be presenting informal talks about the lunar eclipse and the autumn night sky. Unlike solar eclipses in which the Sun's rays can damage the eyes, lunar eclipses are safe to watch with the naked eye. Lunar eclipses are unique in that no one can predict what color the Moon will turn during totality. Binoculars and telescopes will enhance the view. The moon will rise at 6:55PM. from the east, with the sun setting at 6:59PM. in the west. We will see most of the moon within the dark umbra of Earth as it rises. The totality begins at 7:11PM with the point of the greatest eclipse occurring at 7:47PM. The eclipse’s total phase will last for 72 minutes. The Moon will be just 8 degrees above the eastern horizon at the instant of the greatest eclipse. Finally, the partial eclipse ends at 9:27PM.

This will also be the largest full moon of 2015, as it will also be at perigee on September 27 at 5:46PM, at a distance of 221,753 miles from Earth.

Question: The full moon seen closest to the time of the Autumn Equinox is commonly known as what?
Answer: Harvest Moon