Current:Home > ScamsSeptember harvest moon: Thursday's full moon will be final supermoon of 2023-VaTradeCoin
September harvest moon: Thursday's full moon will be final supermoon of 2023
lotradecoin search View Date:2024-12-25 23:11:55
The fourth and final supermoon of 2023 will be visible after sunset Thursday, capping off a summer full of big, bright full moons.
A supermoon happens when the moon is at or near its closest point to Earth in its orbit. During those times, the moon can appear larger and to shine brighter than at other points in its cycle.
This year's harvest supermoon will reach peak illumination at about 6 a.m. ET on Friday after rising in the previous night sky, according to the Farmer's Almanac. It will be visible Friday evening, too.
Thursday's full moon is called the harvest moon, because it's closest to the autumnal equinox, which was Sept. 23. Farmers and other skywatchers also call September's full moon the corn moon, signifying end-of-summer harvests.
Most years the harvest moon happens in September, but every three years it falls in October, so, not every full corn moon is a harvest moon.
Is it in the stars? Free Daily and Monthly Horoscopes
Stargazers who miss this week's supermoon will have to wait about another year for the next supermoon to grace the night sky late in summer 2024.
Why is it called the 'harvest' moon?
The harvest moon's name has long been tied to when crops need to be picked from the fields.
"In the days before tractors with headlights, having moonlight to work by was crucial to getting the harvest in quickly before rain caused it to rot," said Alan MacRobert, an editor at Sky & Telescope magazine.
Many crops ripen in late summer and early autumn, so farmers were extremely busy at this time of year and had to work after sundown, according to NASA. Moonlight became an essential part of farming, and the harvest moon was born.
The Oxford English Dictionary cites 1706 as the first year the term harvest moon was published, NASA said.
2023 had 4 supermoons
Thursday's supermoon is the last of four consecutive supermoons in 2023:
- July's buck moon
- August's sturgeon moon
- August's blue moon
- September's harvest moon
A blue moon is the second of two full moons in a single month, and August's blue moon was especially rare, because it was also a supermoon. NASA says the next super blue moon won't come for another 14 years, when a pair will grace the night sky in January and March 2037.
Contributing: Christopher Cann, USA TODAY; Joyce Orlando, Nashville Tennessean
veryGood! (17715)
Related
- Stock market today: Asian stocks are mixed ahead of key US inflation data
- Judge says Maine can forbid discrimination by religious schools that take state tuition money
- Porsha Williams Mourns Death of Cousin and Costar Yolanda “Londie” Favors
- 3 killed when a train strikes a van crossing tracks in Virginia
- Kylie Kelce's podcast 'Not Gonna Lie' tops Apple, Spotify less than a week after release
- Starbucks replaces its CEO, names Chipotle chief to head the company
- Former Cornell student gets 21 months in prison for posting violent threats to Jewish students
- PHOTO COLLECTION: AP Top Photos of the Day Monday August 12, 2024
- Mega Millions winning numbers for Tuesday, Dec. 10 drawing: $619 million lottery jackpot
- Selling Sunset's Chelsea Lazkani Breaks Down in Tears Over Split in Season 8 Trailer
Ranking
- China's new tactic against Taiwan: drills 'that dare not speak their name'
- Don’t Miss Target’s Home Sale: Enjoy Up to 50% off Including a Keurig for $49 & More Deals Starting at $4
- Judge rules against RFK Jr. in fight to be on New York’s ballot, says he is not a state resident
- Inflation is easing but Americans still aren't feeling it
- Off the Grid: Sally breaks down USA TODAY's daily crossword puzzle, Follow Your Dreams
- An ex-Kansas police chief who led a raid on a newspaper is charged with obstruction of justice
- Millions of campaign dollars aimed at tilting school voucher battle are flowing into state races
- New Massachusetts law bars circuses from using elephants, lions, giraffes and other animals
Recommendation
-
New Jersey targets plastic packaging that fills landfills and pollutes
-
Musk’s interview with Trump marred by technical glitches
-
Inflation is easing but Americans still aren't feeling it
-
Fans go off on Grayson Allen's NBA 2K25 rating
-
What was 2024's best movie? From 'The Substance' to 'Conclave,' our top 10
-
Utah's famed Double Arch collapses, underscores fragility of National Park features
-
Want to speed up a road or transit project? Just host a political convention
-
Will the attacks on Walz’s military service stick like they did to Kerry 20 years ago?