Shine On Harvest Moon

[Reciprocity]

Full Harvest Moon Also, Full Corn Moon, Full Barley Moon.
Tuesday at 13:08 GMT (9:08 a.m. EDT or 6:08 a.m. PDT).

Traditionally, this designation goes to the Full Moon that occurs closest to the Autumnal (Fall) Equinox. In two years out of three, the Harvest Moon comes in September, but every third year it occurs in October.

At the peak of the harvest, farmers can work into the night by the light of this Moon. Usually the Full Moon rises an average of 50 minutes later each night, but for the few nights around the Harvest Moon, the Moon seems to rise at nearly the same time each night: just 25 to 30 minutes later across the United States, and only 10 to 20 minutes later for much of Canada and Europe.
Corn, pumpkins, squash, beans, and wild rice -- the chief Native American staples -- are now ready for gathering.

The Harvest Moon is no ordinary full moon; it behaves in a special way.
Some people claim that the harvest moon shines brighter and more golden than during normal full moons. However, since the time between moonrises on successive nights
is shorter in autumn than at any other time of year, there is very little darkness between sunset and moonrise.

The continuance of the moonlight after sunset is useful to farmers in northern latitudes, who are then harvesting their crops. The full moon following the harvest moon, which exhibits the same phenomena in a lesser degree, is called the hunter's moon. In the southern hemisphere, this week's full Moon behaves in exactly the opposite way: there will be an extra long time between moonrises from one evening to the next.

Try looking at the Moon when it's rising in the east. You might notice something funny: the low-hanging Moon looks very big. This is a trick of the eye known as the "Moon Illusion."
http://www.thursdaysclassroom.com/15jun00/ponzo.html


Question: What happens when the Harvest Full Moon comes late?

The names Fruit or Barley Moon are reserved only for those years when the Harvest Moon comes very late in September or in early October. In such situations, the full Moon occurring immediately prior to the Harvest Moon (in late August or early September) is bestowed with the title of Fruit or Barley. This will be the case in 2004, with the Full Moon of August 29.

Dress rehearsal for an eclipse
The next full moon on the calendar, after this month’s harvest moon, comes on the night of Oct. 27-28. There will be a bonus that night: A total eclipse of the moon.

For viewers in most of the Americas, this shady drama will happen in the early-to-mid evening hours of Wednesday, Oct. 27. Along the West Coast the eclipse gets underway at dusk, only minutes after the sun has set and as the moon is rising. The eclipse will also be visible from Europe, but from there it will occur in the hours before dawn breaks on the morning of Thursday, Oct. 28.

It is not too early to begin making preparations for viewing the eclipse.
One of things to consider is the moon’s location in the sky during the eclipse. For those who live along the West Coast of the United States and Canada this will be an important factor, since initially the eclipse will be rather low in the east-northeast sky. Will tall trees or nearby buildings block your view of the moon?

You can get a very good idea about where the moon will be in the sky during the eclipse by looking for it on the night of Sept. 30-Oct. 1.
During that Thursday night and early Friday morning, the moon – 2.5 days past full – will be very near (within a couple of degrees) to the region of the sky where it will also be on the night of Oct. 27-28 during the eclipse.