Don’t miss September’s Full Harvest Moon, Wyoming
You can expect the full Harvest Moon to appear just after sunset this Friday.
What is a Harvest Moon?
This is the closest full moon to the autumnal equinox, when some farmers used the extra light to work late into the evening to harvest crops, according to NASA.
NASA said September's full moon has popularly been called the Harvest Moon since at least 1706.
Other nicknames include Fruit Moon, Barley Moon, Corn Moon, Moon of Brown Leaves, Child Moon, Mating Moon, and--more recently--GRAIL Moon, according to the Farmer's Almanac. There are many more.
When is the best time to see it in Wyoming?
It reaches peak illumination at 3:58 a.m. on September 10th out West.
In the nights after a full Harvest Moon, the moon will rise during or near twilight, presenting dusk-till-dawn moonlight for several nights in a row.
What does a Harvest Moon look like?
The location of the moon near the horizon makes it look big and orange in color.
The color comes from moonlight penetrating the thicker atmosphere just above the horizon, opposed to when the moon is high in the sky and the light is less obstructed by the same particles. Read more about about the science of it here.
Under the Harvest Moon, by Carl Sandburg
Under the harvest moon,
When the soft silver
Drips shimmering
Over the garden nights,
Death, the gray mocker,
Comes and whispers to you
As a beautiful friend
Who remembers.
Under the summer roses
When the flagrant crimson
Lurks in the dusk
Of the wild red leaves,
Love, with little hands,
Comes and touches you
With a thousand memories,
And asks you
Beautiful, unanswerable questions.