Thursday .. Observation of the “harvest moon” in the sky of the Arab world

The full moon is observed for the month of Zero in the sky of the Arab world, towards the eastern horizon with sunset, on the first Thursday of October 2020, and at this time of year it is called the “moon. harvests ”.

The term “harvest moon” has been in use for several years, which is a popular name given to the full moon during the months of September and October, the months close to the fall equinox. Moonrise time is also close to sunset time for several consecutive nights during the full moon phase in the northern half.

The “harvest moon” falls upon completion, and is at a 180 degree angle from the sun at 4:11 p.m. Cairo time (9:04 p.m. GMT), and it has cut a semicircle around the earth, and remains visible in the Dome of Heaven until it sets at sunrise on Friday.

In general, according to the Jeddah Astronomical Society, moons near the time of the autumn equinox are distinctive because the zodiac circle (the apparent path of the sun, moon, and planets) forms a narrow angle. with the horizon at sunset.

It is known that every full moon rises with the time of sunset, and on average the moon rises the next day with about 50 minutes late, and this happens every day, but in the months of September and October, the narrow angle of zodiac astronomy with the horizon causes the moon to rise earlier than average at northern latitudes.

In northern mid-latitudes, instead of rising 50 minutes late in the days after a full moon, the waning humpback moon will rise only about 35 minutes late for several consecutive days, while in regions with low more distant latitudes near the Arctic Circle, the moon rises about 15 minutes late for several days.

This was considered important in ancient times for farmers who harvested their crops before the era of tractors equipped with light bulbs, as there was not a long period of darkness between sunset and sunrise. moon for several days after the full moon, which means that the farmers were working. in the fields and harvest under Moonlight hence the name Harvest Moon.

This is the perfect time of month to view the radiating craters on the moon’s surface, through binoculars or a small telescope, unlike the rest of the land which looks flat due to the entire moon falling into the sun.