What does a harvest moon mean, and what information does it bring about seasons changing? Let’s delve into this fun topic and learn a few things about it.
It is the full moon that occurs closest to the autumnal equinox. It is also the official start of fall. The specific date of the harvest moon varies from year to year and can occur either in September or October.
Harvest Moon is just a name, just like the full moon or half-moon. However, these autumn full moons do have special characteristics that are related to the time of moonrise.
The harvest moon rises almost immediately after sunset for several nights, allowing farmers to work a little later than other evenings. This season is unique and breathtaking to watch among other full moons that come in across the year.
The harvest moon is stunning! Compared to the normal moon, it appears bigger, brighter, or a deeper orange when you look at it right after sunset when it’s very close to the horizon.
The harvest moon appears bigger, brighter, and more colourful than the full moon because it has a powerful mystique. The moon’s orbit around the earth is not a perfect circle, and the Harvest Moon’s distance from Earth differs from year to year.
The exact time of the full 2021 Harvest Moon is September 20 at 23:54 Universal time. In the US timezones this translates to 7:54 p.m. EDT, 8:54 p.m. ADT, 6:54 p.m. CDT, 4:54 p.m. PDT, 3:54 p.m Alaskan Time, 5:54 p.m. MDT, and 1:54 p.m. Hawaiian Time.
Nature is beautiful and interesting and to learn what this moon means is one of the fascinating things to do. It feels like we are studying astronomy, and how cool can this be?