Due to the fact that of the tradition of using sweet potatoes for the complete Moon, this Moon is also called Imo Meigetsu (which equates as “Potato Harvest Moon”). More recent names for this full Moon are the GRAIL Moon and the LADEE Moon, named for two lunar robotic missions released in September. The Buddhist Hpaung Daw U Festival starts on the day of the new Moon and ends 18 days later on, a couple of days past the next complete Moon (on October 23, 2021). Saturn will appear to move clockwise around the Moon as the night advances, appearing about 6 degrees to the upper right of the Moon as the Moon sets in the west-southwest shortly after midnight (Thursday morning at 12:45 a.m.).
Jupiter will appear to shift clockwise around the Moon as the night advances, appearing about 7 degrees to the upper right of the Moon as the Moon sets in the west-southwest about 2 hours after midnight (Friday early morning at 1:54 a.m.).
A moon, called a Harvest Moon, rises over Washington on September 19, 2013. Credit: NASA/Bill Ingalls
The Next Full Moon is the Harvest Moon; the Fruit or Barley Moon; the Corn Moon; the start of the Sukkoth Holiday; the Mid-Autumn, Mooncake, or Reunion Festival Moon; the Chuseok Festival Moon; Imo Meigetsu or the Potato Harvest Moon; the start of Pitri Paksha; the Honey-offering Festival Moon; the Binara Pura Pasalosvaka Poya; and the GRAIL and LADEE Moon.
The next complete Moon will be on Monday night, September 20, 2021, at 7:55 p.m. EDT. The Moon will appear full for about 3 days around this time, from Sunday night through Wednesday morning. While the complete Moon will be on Monday from Iceland, Liberia, and Senegal westward across the Americas to the International Date Line, it will be on Tuesday for the rest of Africa and Europe eastward throughout Asia and Australia to the International Date Line.
One Moon, Many Names
As the full Moon closest to the autumnal equinox, this is the Harvest Moon, an old European name. The Oxford English Dictionary provides 1706 as the year of its first released usage. Farmers often require to work late by the light of the Moon for the harvest.
Usually, the moon rises about 50 minutes later on each night, however around the Harvest Moon– moonrise appears to be at nearly the very same time: just 25 to 30 minutes later across the northern United States, and only 10 to 20 minutes later on further north in Canada and Europe.
Other European names for this moon are the Fruit Moon, as a number of fruits ripen as completion of summer methods, and the Barley Moon, from the harvesting and threshing of the barley.
The Maine Farmers Almanac first released Native American names for the complete Moons in the 1930s, and these names have actually ended up being extensively known and used. According to this almanac, as the moon in September– the Algonquin people in what is now the northeastern U.S. called this the Corn Moon, as this was the time for collecting their primary staple crops of corn, pumpkins, squash, beans, and wild rice.
” Newer names for this moon are the GRAIL Moon and the LADEE Moon, called for 2 lunar robotic objectives released in September.”– Gordon Johnston
The Moons Connection to Calendars
In the Hebrew calendar, this moon falls near the start of the 7-day Sukkoth holiday. Sukkoth is also referred to as the Feast of Tabernacles or the Feast of the Ingathering. This vacation ties back to the sheltering of individuals of Israel throughout the 40 years in the wilderness in the Book of Leviticus, and likewise a harvest celebration in the Book of Exodus. Often for this holiday, a short-term hut symbolic of a wilderness shelter is developed where the household consumes, sleeps, and hangs out. Sukkoth will begin with sundown on Monday, September 20, and end with sundown on Monday, September 27, 2021.
In China, Vietnam, and some other Asian countries, this complete Moon refers the Mid-Autumn Festival, a conventional harvest celebration. In China, other names for this celebration consist of the Moon Festival, the Mooncake Festival, and the Reunion Festival (with partners in China visiting their moms and dads, then returning to celebrate with their husbands and his parents). Part of the festival consists of offerings to the Moon Goddess Chang e (the name the China National Space Agency provides their lunar missions). In Korea, this full Moon corresponds with the harvest festival Chuseok, throughout which Koreans leave the cities to go back to their traditional hometowns and pay regard to the spirits of their forefathers.
This complete Moon corresponds with the very first of the two Japanese Tsukimi or “Moon-Viewing” celebrations. Due to the fact that of the tradition of using sweet potatoes for the full Moon, this Moon is likewise called Imo Meigetsu (which equates as “Potato Harvest Moon”). The moon celebrations have actually ended up being so popular that they are frequently extended for several days after the moon. The 2nd Moon-Viewing festival occurs on the 13th day of the next lunar month and commemorates the watching of the waxing gibbous Moon a couple of days prior to it is full.
This full Moon marks the start of Pitri (or Pitru) Paksha (fortnight of the forefathers) throughout which Hindus pay homage to their forefathers, specifically through food offerings. Pitri Paksha begins with the moon in the lunar month of Bhadrapada and ends with the brand-new Moon.
For some Buddhists in Bangladesh and Thailand, this moon is Madhu Purnima, the Honey Full Moon Festival or the Honey-offering Festival, tied to a legend that a monkey and an elephant fed the Buddha when he was in the forest to bring peace in between 2 factions, with the elephant offering fruit and the monkey offering a honeycomb.
In Sri Lanka, this complete Moon is the Binara Pura Pasalosvaka Poya Day, commemorating the facility of the Buddhist Bhikkhuni Order.
In many conventional lunisolar calendars, complete Moons fall in the middle of the lunar months. In the Islamic calendar, the months begin with the first sighting of the waxing crescent Moon shortly after the New Moon.
Newer names for this moon are the GRAIL Moon and the LADEE Moon, named for two lunar robotic objectives released in September. On September 10, 2011, the twin Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory (GRAIL) spacecraft began their voyage towards the Moon on a Delta II launch car. On September 6, 2013, the Lunar Atmosphere and Dust Environment Explorer (LADEE) spacecraft started its journey to the Moon on a Minotaur V launch vehicle.
As normal, the wearing of suitably celebratory celestial clothing is motivated in honor of the complete Moon. And you might wish to think about celebrating the harvest; taking pleasure in a mooncake; visiting your hometown, parents, and in-laws (observing suitable social distancing, of course); and camping out with your family.
Here is a summary of other celestial occasions in between now and the complete Moon after next (with times and angles based upon the place of NASA Headquarters in Washington):.
On Monday, September 20, (the day of the next complete Moon), morning twilight will begin at 5:56 a.m., daybreak will be at 6:54 a.m., solar twelve noon will be at 1:01:22 p.m. when the Sun will reach its optimum elevation of 51.94 degrees, sundown will be at 7:08 p.m., and night golden will end at 8:06 p.m.
Two 2 later on the day of the autumnal equinox– Wednesday, September 22, 2021– morning twilight will begin start 5:58 a.m., sunrise will be at 6:56 a.m., solar noon twelve noon be at 1:00:39 p.m. when the Sun will reach its maximum optimum of 51.17 degrees, sunset sundown be at 7:05 p.m., and evening twilight golden end at 8:02 p.m. By Wednesday, October 20,– the day of the full Moon after next– morning early morning golden begin start 6:25 a.m., sunrise daybreak be at 7:23 a.m., solar noon will be at 12:52:45 p.m. when the Sun will reach its maximum altitude of 40.55 degrees, sunset sundown be at 6:22 p.m., and evening night golden end at 7:20 p.m
. With clear skies and a telescope, you should be able to see Jupiters four bright moons, Ganymede, Callisto, Europa, and Io, noticeably shifting positions in the course of an evening. For Saturn, you need to be able to see Saturns rings as well as Saturns biggest moon, Titan.
2021 will not be an excellent year for seeing the Orionid Meteor Shower due to interference from the moon. This shower is expected to be active from October 2 to Nov. 7, 2021, with a peak the early morning of October 21 (the day after the full Moon after the next).
Evening Sky Summary.
On the evening of Monday, September 20, 2021– the day of the complete Moon– as night golden ends at 8:06 p.m., the brightest world noticeable will be Venus, appearing as the Evening Star 7 degrees above the horizon in the west-southwest. The next brightest planet will be Jupiter, appearing 24 degrees above the horizon in the southeast. The faintest of the visible planets in the sky will be Saturn, appearing 27 degrees above the horizon in the south-southeast.
As the lunar cycle progresses, Jupiter, Saturn, and the background of stars will appear to shift towards the west each night (although it is really the Earth that is moving around the Sun towards the east). The brilliant world Venus will appear to move to the left along the horizon in the southwest each evening, passing near the waxing crescent Moon on the night of October 9 and passing above the bright star Antares on the evening of October 16, 2021.
By the night of Wednesday, October 20, 2021– the day of the full Moon after next– as night twilight ends at 7:20 p.m., the brightest world noticeable will be Venus, appearing 10 degrees above the horizon in the southwest. The faintest of the visible planets in the sky will be Saturn, appearing 31 degrees above the horizon in the south.
Early Morning Sky Summary.
On the early morning of Monday, September 20, 2021– the day of the full Moon– as morning golden starts at 5:56 a.m. EDT, no visible worlds will appear in the sky. The intense star appearing closest to directly overhead will be Capella at 81 degrees above the northeastern horizon.
As the lunar cycle advances, the background of stars will appear to move towards the west. On or after October 13 the world Mercury will begin emerging from the glow of dawn, visible short on the eastern horizon up until about 30 minutes prior to daybreak. After October 16 Mercury will be above the horizon as early morning twilight begins. By the morning of October 20– the day of the moon after next– as early morning golden begins at 6:25 a.m. EDT, the only visible world in the sky will be Mercury, appearing about 5 degrees above the eastern horizon. The intense stars of the regional arm of our home galaxy, consisting of the constellation Orion, will appear spread out across the sky from the south-southeast toward the west-northwest. The intense star appearing closest to straight overhead will be Pollux at 77 degrees above the southeastern horizon. Pollux is the brighter of the twins in the constellation Gemini and is about 34 light-years from us.
Daily Guide.
Here is a more detailed, day-by-day listing of celestial occasions in between now and the full Moon after next (again with times and angles based upon the place of NASA Headquarters in Washington):.
SEPTEMBER.
September 16-18.
Thursday night into Friday morning, September 16 to 17, 2021, the world Saturn will appear about 5 degrees from the waxing gibbous Moon, shifting clockwise around the Moon as the night advances. When the Moon reaches its highest in the sky for the night about 2 hours later at 10:02 p.m., Saturn will appear above the Moon.
Friday night into Saturday morning, September 17 to 18, 2021, the intense planet Jupiter will appear near the waxing gibbous Moon, appearing to move clockwise around the Moon as the night progresses. As evening twilight ends at 8:11 p.m EDT, Jupiter will appear about 7 degrees to the left and a little above the Moon. Two hours and 45 minutes later, when the Moon reaches its greatest in the sky for the night at 10:56 p.m., Jupiter will appear about 6 degrees above and to the left of the Moon. By the time the Moon sets in the west-southwest (Saturday at 4:04 a.m.), Jupiter will appear about 4 degrees to the upper right of the Moon.
September 20: The Next Full Moon.
On Monday night, September 20, 2021, for a brief period starting about 30 minutes after sundown after 7:38 p.m. EDT, if you have a clear view of the west-southwestern horizon you may be able to see the planet Mercury about 2 degrees above the horizon and about 1.5 degrees listed below the bright star Spica. This and the next evening will be the 2 evenings when the planet Mercury and the star Spica will appear at their closest to each other.
As discussed above, the next complete Moon will be Monday evening, September 20, 2021, at 7:55 p.m. EDT. The Moon will appear full for about 3 days around this time, from Sunday evening through Wednesday morning.
September 22: Autumnal Equinox.
Wednesday afternoon, September 22, 2021, at 3:21 p.m EDT, will be the autumnal equinox– the huge end of summer, and the start of fall.
September 26.
Sunday night, September 26, 2021, at 5:44 p.m. EDT, the Moon will be at apogee, its farthest from the Earth for this orbit.
September 27.
Monday evening, September 27, 2021, will be the last night that the world Mercury will appear above the horizon thirty minutes after sunset (an approximation of the last evening Mercury will be visible in the radiance of sunset).
September 28.
Tuesday night, September 28, 2021, the subsiding Moon will appear half-full as it reaches its last quarter at 9:57 p.m. EDT. We will not have the ability to see the last quarter Moon (from the Washington, D.C. area) till it increases later on that evening at 11:34 p.m.
OCTOBER.
October 6.
Wednesday morning October 6, 2021, at 7:05 a.m. EDT, will be the new Moon, when the Moon passes in between the Earth and the Sun and will not show up from the Earth. The day of– or the day after– the New Moon marks the start of the brand-new month for a lot of lunisolar calendars.
Sundown on Wednesday evening, October 6, 2021, marks the start of Marcheshvan in the Hebrew calendar, a name typically shortened to Cheshvan or Heshvan. The Buddhist Hpaung Daw U Festival begins on the day of the new Moon and ends 18 days later, a few days past the next full Moon (on October 23, 2021). In the Hindu lunar calendar, the new Moon marks the start of the month of Ashwin, which starts with the nine-day post-monsoon harvest festival called Sharada Navaratri. In the Islamic calendar, the months generally begin with the very first sighting of the waxing crescent Moon. Many Muslim neighborhoods now follow the Umm al-Qura Calendar of Saudi Arabia, which uses astronomical estimations based on the place of Mecca to start months in a more foreseeable way. Using this calendar, sundown on Wednesday night, October 6, 2021, will probably mark the start of Rabi al-Awwal. The ninth month of the Chinese calendar begins on Thursday, October 7, 2021 (at midnight in Chinas time zone, which is 12 hours ahead of EDT).
October 7.
On Thursday night, October 7, 2021, the world Mars will be handing down the far side of the Sun as seen from the Earth, called conjunction. When worlds appear near the Sun as seen from the Earth, charged particles from the Sun interfere with interactions with spacecraft at that world. This year, NASAs solar combination moratorium on commanding all Mars spacecraft is in between October 2 and 14.
Due to the fact that Mars orbits beyond the orbit of Earth it will be shifting from the night sky to the morning sky. Mars will begin emerging from the radiance of the dawn on the eastern horizon after about October 26 (relying on viewing conditions).
October 8.
Friday afternoon, October 8, 2021, at 1:28 p.m. EDT, the Moon will be at perigee, its closest to the Earth for this orbit.
October 9.
On Saturday, October 9, 2021, the world Mercury will be passing in between the Earth and the Sun as seen from the Earth, called inferior conjunction. Worlds that orbit within the orbit of Earth can have two types of combinations with the Sun, inferior (when passing between the Earth and the Sun) and superior (when handing down the far side of the Sun as seen from the Earth). Mercury will be shifting from the evening sky to the morning sky and will begin emerging from the glow of the strike the eastern horizon after about October 13 (depending upon seeing conditions).
On Saturday evening, the waxing crescent Moon and the bright world Venus ought to make a pleasing sight in the southwestern sky. As evening twilight ends at 7:35 p.m., the Moon will appear about 11 degrees above the horizon with Venus appearing about 2.5 degrees to the lower right of the Moon and the brilliant star Antares appearing about 6 degrees to the left. Venus will set initially in the west-southwest about an hour later on at 8:35 p.m.
October 12.
On Tuesday night, October 12, 2021, the Moon will appear half-full as it reaches its first quarter at 11:25 p.m. EDT. For the Washington area, at least, this will be just prior to moonset at 11:38 p.m.
October 13-14.
Wednesday morning, October 13, 2021, will be the first early morning that the planet Mercury will appear above the horizon 30 minutes prior to dawn, an approximation of when it will begin emerging from the radiance of dawn and begin being visible low on the eastern horizon. Mercury passed in between the Earth and the Sun on October 9, moving from the evening sky to the early morning sky.
Wednesday night into early Thursday morning, October 13 to 14, 2021, the world Saturn will appear above the waxing gibbous Moon. Saturn will appear about 8 degrees to the upper left of the Moon as evening golden ends at 7:30 p.m EDT. Saturn will appear to shift clockwise around the Moon as the night advances, appearing about 6 degrees to the upper right of the Moon as the Moon sets in the west-southwest quickly after midnight (Thursday early morning at 12:45 a.m.).
October 15.
The next night, Thursday night into early Friday early morning, October 14 to 15, 2021, the brilliant planet Jupiter will appear above the waxing gibbous Moon. Jupiter will appear about 9 degrees to the upper left of the Moon as evening twilight ends (at 7:28 p.m. EDT). Jupiter will appear to shift clockwise around the Moon as the night advances, appearing about 7 degrees to the upper right of the Moon as the Moon sets in the west-southwest about 2 hours after midnight (Friday early morning at 1:54 a.m.).
By Friday night, October 15, the waxing gibbous Moon will have moved such that Jupiter will appear about 9 degrees to the upper right of the Moon as night golden ends at 7:27 p.m. EDT. The set will appear to separate as the night advances.
October 16: Observe the Moon Night.
Saturday morning, October 16, 2021, will be the first early morning that the world Mercury will appear above the eastern horizon at the time morning twilight starts at 6:46 a.m. EDT.
As night twilight ends at 7:26 p.m. EDT, Venus will appear 10 degrees above the southwestern horizon with Antares 1.4 degrees below Venus. These 2 obvious motions will cause Venus to move toward Antares till October 16, after which the set will appear to separate as Venus continues to the left and Antares continues towards the horizon each evening.
Saturday night is likewise International Observe the Moon Night. Click the link to discover events near you, and to find out about hosting an event.
October 20.
The full Moon after next will be Wednesday morning, October 20, 2021, at 10:57 a.m. EDT. The Moon will appear full for about 3 days around this time, from Monday night through Thursday early morning– and potentially the earlier part of Thursday evening.