September’s full harvest moon is the last supermoon of the year

The Harvest Moon is traditionally the full moon closest to the autumnal equinox, which typically occurs in late September. When a full moon coincides with the moon's perigee (the point in its orbit closest to Earth), it's referred to as a supermoon. Supermoons can appear larger and brighter in the sky compared to regular full moons.

So, when the Harvest Moon aligns with its closest approach to Earth, it creates a particularly impressive sight in the night sky. This combination of the Harvest Moon and a supermoon is a special celestial event, and it's indeed often considered the last supermoon of the year.

The event comes close to the start of autumn, or the autumnal equinox, which fell this year on September 23. As a result, the name harvest moon is a reference to the season of gathering. According to The Old Farmer's Almanack, this time of year is typically when many crops in the Northern Hemisphere reach their height. In the past, the bright moon encouraged farmers to work into the night to gather their harvest before the first frost. Other names for the full moon in September among various indigenous groups include the autumn moon from the Passamaquoddy tribe, the moon of the brown leaves from the Lakota, and the corn making moon from the Abenaki tribe. According to Royal Museums Greenwich, two other harvest-celebrating customs around this time are the Korean festival of Chuseok and the Japanese Buddhist holiday of Higan, both of which also honour ancestors. The beginning of the harvest moon is often described as being orange by humans, however this is true of all full moons. According to EarthSky, the color is caused by the Earth's atmosphere being thicker towards the horizon than it is when the full moon is overhead.The Planetary Society reports that other planets are also now visible in the night sky. While Venus, one of the brightest stars in the night sky, appears just before dawn, gold-tinged Saturn and dazzling Jupiter rise in the east and seem high in the later hours. Prior to dawn, Mercury can be seen dancing low along the eastern horizon.

Full moons and supermoons

Here are given full moons remaining in 2023, declared by the Farmers’ Almanac:

● October 28: Hunter’s moon

● November 27: Beaver moon

● December 26: Cold moon

Lunar and solar eclipses:

On October 14, an annular solar eclipse will be visible across North, Central, and South America. The moon will pass between the sun and Earth at or very close to its furthest point from Earth during the phenomenon, commonly known as the "Ring of Fire." The moon will be surrounded by a bright halo and appear smaller than the sun. Wear eclipse glasses when viewing the phenomena to protect your eyes from injury. On October 28, there will also be a partial moon eclipse. Due to a partial alignment of the sun, Earth, and moon, just a portion of the moon will be in shadow. Europe, Asia, Australia, sections of North America, and most of South Africa will be able to see this partial eclipse.

Meteor showers:

In regions without light pollution, the best viewing times for each of the remaining meteor showers projected to peak this year are from late at night to sunrise. The peaks of the events are as follows:

● Draconids: October 8

● Orionids: October 20-21

● Southern Taurids: November 4-5

● Northern Taurids: November 11-12

● Leonids: November 17-18

● Geminids: December 13-14

● Ursids: December 21-22

Supermoons have several definitions, but in general, they are full moons that are closer to Earth than usual, making them look bigger and brighter in the night sky. The moon will be 14,046 miles (22,604 kilometers) closer to Earth than usual, at a distance of 224,854 miles (361,867 km). On August 30, when the moon was only 221,954 miles (357,200 km) from Earth, there was the year's closest supermoon.

According to NASA, the full moon in September will be 13% brighter and 5% bigger than usual. According to some scientists, the phenomena happens when the moon is 90% of its perigee, or closest point in orbit to Earth.