The 2024 Harvest Moon and Autumnal Equinox

I gazed at the full moon, hanging low and bright oe’r the trees last night, warm and inviting on that September night. The Autumnal Equinox The full moon nearest to the Autumnal Equinox is known as the “Harvest Moon” and they both generally occur in September. On rare occasions, the Harvest Moon occurs in October,[…]

The Summer Solstice and June’s Strawberry Moon, 2024

Please see this article for more details about this image and the June 2009 occultation of the red supergiant star Antares. This year’s Summer Solstice occurs on Thursday, June 20 (details below), followed the next day by this year’s full ‘Strawberry’ Moon on Friday, June 21st. Why is June’s full moon the “Strawberry Moon”? In[…]

Late August Sky, 2023 With Saturn and A Full Blue Supermoon

A view towards the SSE at astronomical twilight (8:15 PM EDT), Sunday, August 27. The waxing gibbous moon is low above the southern horizon and Saturn is rising further to the east. The ecliptic is presented in this view to illustrate where the plane of the solar system is. Note that all solar system objects[…]

Super Blue Moon Coming, Biggest and Brightest of 2023

The Full Moon in August is named after North America’s largest fish, the lake sturgeon. Other names for this Full Moon include Grain Moon, Green Corn Moon, Fruit Moon, and Barley Moon. Blue Moon The “first” full moon for this month occurred on Tuesday, August 1st. The August 30 (Wednesday) full moon will be the second, hence,[…]

Full Hunter’s Moon Sunday, October 9th

The Hunter’s Moon The full moon following the “Harvest Moon” is known as the Hunter’s Moon. This year, that occurs on Sunday, October 9 at 8:54 PM (UTC), 4:54 PM (EDT). As the name suggests before the invention of the electric light, the light of the full moon gave aid to the farmers and hunters[…]

The Autumnal Equinox and Harvest Moon, 2022

I gazed at the full moon, hanging low and bright oe’r the trees last night, warm and inviting on that September night. The Vernal and Autumnal Equinoxes are two days during the year with 12 equal hours of daylight and darkness. The Vernal Equinox heralds the beginning of Spring and the Autumnal Equinox, Autumn. The[…]

Full Sturgeon SuperMoon Tonight!

The last supermoon for the year occurs tonight, Thursday, August 11th. Why is August’s full moon known as a “Sturgeon Moon”? The August 2022 Full Sturgeon Supermoon is still low in the southeast over two hours after its rising at 20:15 UTC (8:15 PM, EDT) on Thursday, August 11. Flanking the moon to the north[…]

July Full Moon Biggest and Brightest Supermoon of 2022

July 2022 Full Buck Supermoon low in the southeast following its rising at 21:00 UT (9:00 PM, EDT) on July 13. Note: the brilliant ruby Antares is near the meridian with the “Tea Pot” of Sagittarius to the east. Image via Stellarium. The full moon for this month occurs on Wednesday, July 13. According to[…]

Autumnal Equinox and Harvest Moon, 2021

There are two days during the year with 12 equal hours of daylight and darkness, the Vernal and Autumnal Equinoxes. The Vernal Equinox heralds the beginning of Spring and the Autumnal Equinox, Autumn. The Autumnal Equinox for this year occurs on Wednesday, September 22, 2021 at 7:21 pm UTC (3:21 pm EDT). Many significant astronomical[…]

Tonight’s Full Moon is a ‘Real’ Blue Moon (with video)

The Full Moon in August is named after North America’s largest fish, the lake sturgeon. Other names for this Full Moon include Grain Moon, Green Corn Moon, Fruit Moon, and Barley Moon. Tonight’s full moon marks this year’s first Real ‘Blue Moon’ (a term suggesting the occurrence of something rare). Normally, there are only three[…]

Strawberry Moon, 2021

This year’s ‘Strawberry Moon‘ occurs on Thursday, June 24th. Why is June’s full moon the “Strawberry Moon“? In North America and Europe, the name of each month’s moon is linked to nature and related to a particular season or seasonal activity. June’s full moon is known as the “Strawberry Moon” since it is during this[…]

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