Harvest Moon 2013 Tonight: What To Know
The 2013 Full Harvest Moon, which is the closest full moon to the autumn equinox, is set to take place on Wednesday night.
There are thousands of fans of the natural phenomenon in the Northern Hemisphere, and last year's Harvest Moon saw numerous photos posted to Facebook.
On the night of Sept. 18-19, stargazers will surely be celebrating once more as the 2013 Harvest Moon rises during sunset.
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The term Harvest Moon likely originated from the fact that farmers used the additional light from the full autumn moon to work in the field before there was electricity according to Earth Sky.
Furthermore, the day after the Harvest Moon takes place is called the "Hunter's Moon," a name that is believed to have begun with Native Americans who used the bright moon while hunting.
Because the moon orbits the Earth in the same direction the earth is rotating, the moon rises later each day. However, the Harvest Moon and the Hunter's Moon are extraordinary because the time difference between moonrises on successive evenings is much shorter than average.
Also, while the Northern Hemisphere experiences a September equinox, the Southern Hemisphere sees a March equinox. As a result, the Southern Hemisphere will see a Full Harvest Moon on March 16, 2014.
However, there is no Harvest Moon at the equator and not enough of the moon is visible to say that one occurs in the tropical regions of the globe.
Meanwhile, several items in pop culture have been influenced by the Harvest Moon. For example, a brewery in Brunswick, New Jersey used it as inspiration for its name, The Harvest Moon Brewery.
Furthermore, Neil Young's famous "Harvest Moon" album contains tracks such as "From Hank to Hendrix" and "One of These Days," among others.
As for other sky watching events this week, Venus will appear low in the southwest sky as the brightest star-like object.
