The Harvest Moon is the full moon that occurs nearest to the autumnal equinox. Seeing as how the equinox takes place at 11:09pm TONIGHT, and the moon will be officially full at 5:17am Thursday, this is about as close as you can get! The name "harvest moon" comes from the days before we had electricity. It is called the harvest moon as farmers would note the full moon’s occurrence, and this was used a guide in their harvests, thus the simple name of harvest moon.With the setting of the sun tonight, the moon will appear to give off a “360-degree style” twilight, illuminating the sky around the northern hemisphere, and putting on a brilliant and beautiful show of nature and space.The moon will look a little different, according to NASA’s Dr. Tony Phillips as it travels across the sky. The ‘moon illusion’ will make the moon seem much larger and closer than many have seen before.The Harvest Moon is the full moon in September and the Hunter's Moon is the full moon in October, but not always. The Hunter's Moon is the full moon the follows after the Harvest Moon, therefore the Hunter's Moon can occur in November.Thus, the full moon in October is either the Harvest Moon or the Hunter's Moon. In 2020, it is both. When the full moon occurs on October 1, 2020, it will be the Harvest Moon. On October 31, 2020, another full moon within this month will then be called the Hunter's Moon and also a Blue Moon, being the second full moon in a calendar month. This means that October 2020 will play host to the Harvest Moon, Hunter's Moon, and Blue Moon.
In the old days when the harvest season was over, many rural people turned to hunting to store up food for winter. This is still often the case. While October is generally the month of the Hunter's Moon and less often November, it is November that people traditionally associate with hunting. Many states have their firearm deer hunting season in November.How bright is a full moon? A full moon shines at magnitude -12.6. This is almost bright enough to read a book by moonlight, as compared to a new moon when it can be so dark in the countryside that a farmer couldn't see his hand in front of his face.
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.
The Harvest Moon and the equinox rarely happen at the same time. As a matter of fact, this is the first time we've had a full moon the night of northern autumnal equinox in nearly 20 years! The moon will rise just before the sun sets tonight, and then after dark you can watch the Harvest Moon dance with brilliant Jupiter all night!While you watch the Moon rise, you may notice it looks much larger near the horizon. Many people report seeing the moon look HUGE as it rises and/or sets this time of year, but it's an illusion. The Moon is not about to hit Earth, and it has not swelled in size. It is a phenomenon that is not yet well understood by astronomers or psychologists, but you can test out the illusion by simply taking a picture of the Moon when you see it looming "large" near the horizon.
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