Farmers and astronomers alike will be looking at the skies tonight for the full harvest moon. If you live across either big ocean, you can also watch a “subtle” lunar eclipse.
The harvest moon is a signal of the coming of autumn, but more specifically is when the moon is exactly opposite of the sun in the sky, according to Space.com.
It also serves to help farmers harvest their crops each year. The moon stays up when the sun goes down, allowing farmers work at night under full moonlight.
Those aren’t the only reasons the harvest moon differs from an ordinary moon. The harvest moon will usually rise about the same time every night for a few weeks.
This year, a “minor penumbral lunar eclipse” will accompany the harvest moon. That means the sun, Earth, and moon will almost be perfectly aligned. Part, but not all, of the moon’s light from the sun will be blocked.
The eclipse will only be visible in Europe, Africa, Asia and Australia. However, there are other ways to view the eclipse. The harvest moon and eclipse will take place at 3:05 p.m. EDT.
For those of us here in North America, you can watch the harvest moon webstream from the Slooh Community Observatory.
