9/29: The Harvest Moon

The full moon closest to the autumnal equinox is called the Harvest Moon and this year occurs on Saturday, Sept. 29th. The moon will rise at 6:27 p.m. in the east while the sun will be getting ready to set in the west at 6:55 p.m. The Harvest Moon usually looks big, bright and orange. This is due to the fact when the moon is rising it is near the horizon and the moon light travels through a greater thickness of Earth’s atmosphere which scatters blue light. The blue light is scattered but the red light makes it to your eyes which causes the moon near the horizon to take on a yellow, orange or reddish hue. The larger size the moon appears to be is actually a trick your eyes are playing called the Moon Illusion.