The Harvest Moon for 2017 is on its way!
A Harvest Moon occurs once a year and is the result of a full moon appearing close to the autumnal equinox. This has it typically appearing with September’s full moon, but it can also appear in October, which is this case this year.
The reason that it is called a Harvest Moon has to do with farming. The moon gets its name because it rises shortly after sunset. This provides extra light and makes it easier for farmers to see what they are doing while harvesting crops.
While the Harvest Moon only occurs once a year, its benefits continue on for several nights. The moon will continue to rise shortly after sunset the few days after the event and will provide extra light, but not as much as when its a full moon, reports The Old Farmer’s Almanac.
Today’s full moon will reach its peak at
2:40 p.m. Eastern Time, but won’t cross our skies until 7:21 p.m. Eastern Time. This means that we won’t be seeing the moon at its fullest tonight, but that doesn’t change the fact that it is still a Harvest Moon
The Harvest Moon 2017 is actually the first time in several years that the event has taken place in October. The last time this happened was in 2009. The time before this was in 2006. The next time that we’ll see a Harvest Moon in October is 2020, National Geographic notes.
As of this writing, William White did not hold a position in any of the aforementioned securities.
