September’s full harvest moon will shine as the first day of fall approaches

The September 2021 full moon will shine in the night sky this week, just in time for the official start of fall as the fall equinox arrives.

Better known as the “harvest moon,” the September moon will officially reach its fullest phase at 7:54 pm on Monday, September 20. But she will look big and bright for a few days.

The moon will be 98% full on Sunday, 100% on Monday and Tuesday, and 98% on Wednesday, September 22 – the first official day of fall, known as the fall equinox or the equinox. fall.

TOO: Fall foliage forecast looks ‘alive’ in parts of eastern US

The equinox occurs when the sun rises directly over the equator, bringing almost equal hours of daylight and darkness to the northern and southern hemispheres on that day.

The best time to see the September harvest moon will be when it begins to rise in the eastern sky around 7:15 p.m. EST on Monday, 20 minutes after sunset, and when it begins to rise. get up at 7:36 p.m. on Tuesday. .

The near full moon will rise on Sunday at 6:48 p.m. and Wednesday at 7:59 p.m.

The September Full Moon has a nickname related to the growing season. For most years it is called the “harvest moon”, but sometimes this nickname is reserved for the October full moon.

It all depends on which of these two full moons seems closest to the date of the autumn equinox.

Because this year’s full moon will appear on the night of September 20, two days before fall arrives, it will be called a harvest moon.

Last year, the September full moon appeared on September 1, followed by another full moon on October 1. : the corn moon, ”noted the Old Farmer’s Almanac.

In addition to these nicknames, some Native American tribes refer to the September full moon as the barley moon, “because it is the time to harvest and thresh ripe barley,” says the Old Farmer Almanac.

Space.com says September’s full moon was known as the “moon of falling leaves” among the Ojibwe tribe of the Great Lakes region, while the Cree of Ontario called this moon the “rutting moon.” because September was the time when many animals, especially deer, started mating.

Last year, due to the lunar cycle calendar, we got a special treat during the Halloween season: two full moons in October, including one on October 31st.

But this year things will get back to normal, with just one full moon in October. The so-called “Hunter’s Moon” will shine at its peak at 10:56 am on October 20, 2021.

The last full moons of 2021 will shine in the sky on November 19 and December 18.

Thank you for relying on us to provide the local news you can trust. Please consider supporting NJ.com with a subscription.

Len Melisurgo can be contacted at [email protected].