Technology
Full Moon September 2021: When is the Harvest Moon and how to see in the UK
STARGAZERS across the globe will be treated to an orange-hued full Moon this week.
The so-called Harvest Moon will appear in the night sky over the US and Europe starting September 20 and hang there for around three days.
EPAThe Harvest Moon is one of 13 full Moons this year[/caption]
Harvest Full Moon – what time and how to see
The full Harvest Moon is expected to appear starting September 20 at 7:55pm ET (00:55am BST on September 21).
According to NASA, the lunar event will be visible from Iceland, Liberia, Senegal and across the Americas to the International Dateline.
It will appear on Tuesday night for the rest of Africa, Europe, Asia and Australia to the International Date Line.
Weather permitting you should be able to see it in all its bright glory but try to avoid light polluted areas.
Nasa explained: “Moon will appear full for about three days around this time, from Sunday evening through Wednesday morning.”
Getty Images – GettyLook out for the Harvest Moon this week[/caption]
Why is it called the Harvest Moon?
All the full Moons have nicknames, which usually relate to the time of year they appear.
Harvest Moon is the term given to the Full Moon that appears closest to the autumn equinox, the point after which daylight hours start to reduce for those of us in the Northern Hemisphere.
It’s named after its connection to farmers.
Nasa said: “As the full Moon closest to the autumnal equinox (the end of summer and start of fall), this is the Harvest Moon.
“During the harvest season farmers sometimes need to work late into the night by the light of the Moon.
“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: just 25 to 30 minutes later across the northern USA, and only 10 to 20 minutes later farther north in Canada and Europe.
“The Harvest Moon is an old European name with the Oxford English Dictionary giving 1706 as the year of its first published use. Most years the Harvest Moon falls in September but this is one of the years it falls in October.”
Full Moons occur when the whole side of the Moon that’s facing Earth is lit up by the Sun’s rays.
The Harvest Moon is one of 13 full Moons to grace our skies in 2021.
The different types of moons
Here are some of the most interesting moon phases and when to see them…
A Blue Moon refers to the occasion when a full Moon appears for the second time in the same month, this is very rare and the next Blue Moon should occur on Halloween in 2020.
The Harvest Moon appears around the time of the autumnal equinox when farmers tend to do their main crop harvesting.
A Supermoon appears when it is at its closest point to Earth and therefore at its brightest, the next one will appear in September.
A Blood Moon occurs during a total lunar eclipse, the next one should happen in May 2020.
Each month of the year actually has its own special full moon phenomenon, they are as follows:
January: Wolf Moon
February: Snow Moon
March: Worm Moon
April: Pink Moon
May: Flower Moon
June: Strawberry Moon
July: Buck Moon
August: Sturgeon Moon
September: Full Corn Moon
October: Hunter’s Moon
November: Beaver Moon
December: Cold Moon.
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In other news, Elon Musk says SpaceX can put astronauts back on the Moon by 2024.
Musk is working on a Tesla robot that looks like a human – and will perform “boring or dangerous tasks”.
And Nasa’s Mars helicopter has been whizzing across the red planet.
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