The harvest moon is your best bet if you’re looking for a sign that autumn is here other than pumpkin spice latte commercials.
According to NASA, astronomers can view the moon starting at sunset on Friday until its peak at 5:59 a.m. ET on Saturday.
Because of its proximity to the fall equinox, when farmers frequently harvest their crops, this lunar occurrence is known as the harvest moon, according to NASA.
The Old Farmer’s Almanac refers to the September full moon in 2022 as the “harvest moon” because it will be the closest to the autumnal equinox, which will occur on September 22. Harvest moon refers to the full moon in October when it occurs closer to the equinox than corn moon refers to the full moon in September.
According to The Old Farmer’s Almanac, the harvest moon initially appears after sunset on Friday and rises 25 minutes later each day in the northern United States and 10 to 20 minutes later in Canada and Europe. When the moon enters its next phase, it resumes rising daily 50 minutes later than usual.
According to EarthSky, other full moons this year will still be on that 50-minute timeline.
According to The Old Farmer’s Almanac, the harvest moon rises sooner in the Northern Hemisphere at the autumnal equinox when the moon’s orbit is closest to the Eastern horizon.
The almanac states that even while the moon moves around 12 degrees to the east on a daily basis, September’s full moon is closer to the horizon than usual, which causes it to rise earlier than usual.
For a few evenings in a row, moonlight is present from dawn to dusk, giving farmers light to labor into the night, according to EarthSky.
According to EarthSky, this effect happens around the spring equinox in either March or April in the Southern Hemisphere.
The moon may appear burned orange as it starts to rise into the sky. According to EarthSky, this is because the Earth’s atmosphere is thicker along the horizon than it is just above our heads.
When the moon first rises above the horizon, that atmosphere serves as a filter, giving it an ominous hue.
In comparison to other full moons, the harvest moon may also appear larger in the sky, but your eyes are deceiving you.
The harvest moon’s proximity to the city skyline heightens the optical illusion that any full moon will appear larger over the horizon.