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The harvest moon rises tonight, along with the planets Venus and Jupiter shining brightly. Last full moon before this year’s fall equinox, the Harvest Moon will be visible overnight, weather permitting, until the early hours of Wednesday.
On the east coast of the United States, the Harvest Moon will emerge just above the eastern horizon at 7:13 p.m. EDT on Monday evening (September 20). It will successfully reach its full phase approximately 40 minutes later at 7:55 p.m. EDT.
The moon will appear full on Monday for observers west of Africa’s west coast to the international date line (a border stretching from the North Pole to the South Pole across the Pacific Ocean where each calendar day). Observers based in Europe, Asia, Australia and most of Africa will see the full moon on Tuesday, September 21.
Related: How to photograph the moon using a camera: techniques, kit and settings
Moon kit for Orion GoScope II 70 telescope: $ 89.99 at Amazon
If you know a youngster who never tires of the moon, they’ll be delighted with the views through the Orion GoScope II. Revealing craters and seas up close, this tiny telescope comes complete with a carrying case and moon map.
The Harvest Moon, which gets its name because it coincides with the harvest season in Europe and North America, will rise in the constellation Pisces, according to NASA, just two days after its passage. Jupiter and four days before getting close Uranus.
Following: Night sky, September 2021: what you can see this month [maps]
Venus, the brightest planet visible when the moon appears, will be located 7 degrees above the horizon in a west-southwest direction. The next brightest planet, Jupiter, will appear 24 degrees above the horizon to the southeast. The weakest of the planets visible in the sky will be Saturn, appearing 27 degrees above the horizon in the southeast. Avid sky-watchers may be able to briefly spot Mercury about 30 minutes after sunset before it disappears below the west-southwest horizon.
The Harvest Moon also marks a rapid shortening of the day in the northern hemisphere. While on Tuesday (September 22), the day of the fall equinox, morning twilight begins at 5:58 a.m. and the sun rises at 6:56 a.m., around the time of the next full moon on October 20, twilight in the morning start at 6:25 a.m. and the sun will rise at 7:23 a.m.
Follow Tereza Pultarova on Twitter @TerezaPultarova. Follow us on Twitter @Spacedotcom and on Facebook.
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