Stargazers can see the moon at sunset starting Friday, and it will culminate at 5:59 a.m. ET on Saturday, according to NASA.
This lunar event is It’s called the Harvest Moon because it falls just before the fall equinox, a time when farmers often harvest their crops, NASA said.
In 2022, the September Full Moon is closest to the autumnal equinox, which falls on September 22, which is why it is called the Harvest Moon, according to The Old Farmer’s Almanac. When October’s full moon is closer to the equinox, it is called the Harvest Moon, and September is called the Corn Moon.
The harvest moon appears around 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, according to The Old Farmer’s Almanac. Once the moon transitions to its next phase, it returns to its normal rise schedule 50 minutes later each day.
Other full moons throughout the year remain on this 50-minute timeline, according to EarthSky.
The early rise of the autumn moon occurs in the northern hemisphere near the autumn equinox, when the moon’s orbit is closest to the eastern horizon, according to The Old Farmer’s Almanac. The moon’s orbit moves about 12 degrees east each day, but because September’s full moon is so close to the horizon, it rises earlier than usual, according to the almanac.
The moonlight lasts from dawn to dusk for a few nights in a row, giving farmers light to keep working at night, EarthSky said.
In the southern hemisphere, this effect occurs around the vernal equinox in March or April, according to EarthSky.
As the moon begins its ascent into the sky, it can be a burnt orange hue. This is because, according to EarthSky, there is a thicker layer of Earth’s atmosphere along the horizon than directly overhead.
This atmosphere acts like a filter, transforming the moon’s eerie color when it first rises above the horizon.
The Autumn Moon may also appear larger in the sky compared to other Full Moons, but your eyes are playing tricks on you.
Each full moon will look larger along the horizon, so the harvest moon’s position near the skyline makes this optical illusion more apparent, EarthSky said.
Remaining events in 2022
According to The Old Farmer’s Almanac, there will be three more full moons this year:
• 9 October: Hunter’s Moon
• November 8: Beaver Moon
• December 7: Cold Moon
Native American tribes have different names for the full moons, such as For example, the Cheyenne tribe’s “drying grass moon” for the September full moon and the Arapaho tribe’s “cracking trees” for the December full moon.
Catch the peak of these upcoming meteor shower events later this year, according to EarthSky’s 2022 Meteor Shower Guide:
• Draconids: 8th-9th cent. October
• Orionids: 20th-21st cent. October
• South Taurids: November 5th
• North Taurids: November 12th
• Leonids: 17th-18th cent. November
• Gemini: 13th-14th December
• Ursids: 22.-23. December
And according to The Old Farmer’s Almanac, there will be another total lunar eclipse and partial solar eclipse in 2022. The October 25 partial solar eclipse will be visible to people in parts of Greenland, Iceland, most of Europe, northeast Africa, and western and central Asia.
The November 8 total lunar eclipse can be seen in Asia, Australia, the Pacific, South America, and North America between 3:02 a.m. and 8:56 a.m. ET. But for the people of eastern North America, the moon will set during this time.
Wear proper solar eclipse glasses to see solar eclipses safely, as the sunlight can damage your eyes.
