Travel

RARE BEAUTY: OCTOBER HARVEST MOON

by Miguel Claro, of Miguel Claro Astrophotography. “Harvest moonrise.” Sesimbra Castle. Portugal. Used with Permission.

OCTOBER HARVEST MOON

This month we saw the first October Harvest Moon in almost a decade. And it was the most beautiful sight to behold.

October 5th gave rise to the closest full moon to the fall equinox. And that doesn’t happen often. Here’s why that matters.

Because the Harvest Moon rises later than usual, just as the sun is setting, the sky stays bright longer into the descending night, allowing farmers more time to harvest their crops.

In the Northern Hemisphere, the harvest moon usually happens on or around September 22. But this year, the September full moon appeared on the 6th, 16 days prior to the fall equinox, while the October full moon, on the 5th, rose just 13 days after, and therefore closer.

Rare and gorgeous, like a brilliant orange diamond in the sky, it’s no wonder the Harvest Moon inspires love, poetry, and music. Neil Young sings, “I’m still in love with you, on this Harvest Moon,” in his achingly beautiful song to a lost lover. And we feel it through and through.

Image by Smudge 9000 Supermoon or Harvest Moon Sequence over Kent Kent UK

The last October Harvest moon before this one was in 2009 and the next one will be in 2020. Based on the timing of the equinox and the regular 29.5-day cycle of the moon, a harvest moon can happen on any date between September 7 and October 8. So, the probability of an October harvest moon is roughly one in four.

Orange harvest moon rises at twilight above the Wairarapa Hills in New Zealand.

Harvest moons are particularly beautiful. One reason is that they let us see more later into the evening. Because the Harvest Moon’s orbital path is slightly tilted with respect to Earth’s orbit during the nights on and adjacent to the equinox, the moon changes its position in the sky with each moonrise. And it rises about 30 minutes later in the northern U.S. and just 10 to 20 minutes later in much of Canada and Europe, so the sky stays lighter.

Gorgeous gigantic orange harvest moon rises just above the horizon as the sky turns pink at sunset in Queensland Australia.

The moniker, “Harvest Moon” has been used to name this special moon since early 1700s. Native Americans have called it “the travel moon,” “dying grass moon,” and “blood moon.”

Enormous harvest moon rises just above the treetop in Ontario, Canada.

Sharad Purnima is the Hindu harvest festival held around the first full moon in the lunar month of Ashwin, as the monsoon season ends.

Huge orange harvest moon rises above the US Capitol, next to the Washington Monument, in Washington, DC.

Harvest moons are also especially magnificent when they first rise, looking like giant orange pumpkins glowing brightly just above the horizon. As you look toward the horizon, you see the moon through a greater thickness of Earth’s atmosphere, through more dust particles, vs. when you see it overhead. The atmosphere scatters blue light, giving us blue skies, but at the horizon, it lets red light pass through

Big beautiful orange harvest moon rises just above horizon in the Shetland Isles, Scotland.

The bigger-than-usual size of a moon seen near the horizon is known as the “Moon Illusion.” The explanation of this illusion is still debated. You can find various hypothesis here.

And check out this video which offers several explanations of the gigantic Moon Illusion.

Supermoon rises just above the tip of the Washington Monument, in Washington, DC.

Check out our story about Super Moons.

NASA will be celebrating this year’s International Observe the Moon Night on October 28. Look for our story about it next Tuesday, on October 24, 2017.

And keep looking skyward to see more beauty!

Gargantuan orange harvest moon rises above the clouds on the horizon in Cleveland, Ohio.

Read more about Beautiful Moons all this week on BeautifulNow.

And check out more beautiful things happening now in BN Mind/Body, Soul/Impact, Nature/Science, Food/Drink, Arts/Design, and Place/Time, Daily Fix posts.

Like a giant pumpkin in the sky, the harvest moon rises above the river in Little Rock, Arkansas.

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Giant harvest moon shines brightly as it rises above the Calaveras Hills, in San Jose, California.

IMAGE CREDITS:

Image: by Miguel Claro, of Miguel Claro Astrophotography. “Harvest moonrise.” Sesimbra Castle. Portugal. Used with Permission.
Image: by Smudge 9000. “Supermoon or Harvest Moon Sequence over Kent.” Kent, UK.
Image: by dubh. “Harvest moon in the Wairarapa Hills.” Wairarapa Hills, New Zealand.
Image: by James Niland. “Moonrise.” Queensland, Australia.
Image: by Gordon Bell. “Harvest Moon.” Ontario, Canada.
Image: by Brett Davis. “Harvest Moon.” Washington, DC.
Image: by Ronnie Robertson. “Harvest moon.” Compass Head. Shetland Isles, Scotland.
Image: by Bill Ingalls, NASA HQ PHOTO. “Supermoon.” Washington Monument. Washington, DC.
Image: by Erik Drost. “Cleveland Harvest Moon.” Cleveland, Ohio.
Image: by Bob Simmons. “Super Harvest Moon.” Little Rock, Arkansas.
Image: by BN App - Download now!
Image: by Sathish J. “Harvesting the moon.” Calaveras Hills. San Jose, California.