Book Board Chat

Greetings from Penn Woods on the morning of the Harvest Moon night.

Harvest Moon 2013: What You Need to Know

Get ready for the Harvest Moon. Depending on where you live on the planet, it’s either Wednesday or Thursday of this week.

“In traditional skylore, the Harvest Moon is the full moon closest to the autumnal equinox,” EarthSky reports, “and depending on the year, [it] can come anywhere from two weeks before to two weeks after the autumnal equinox.” For 2013, that changing of the seasons happens on September 22 — just a few days from now. [sometimes the autumnal equinox is on my birthday, the 23rd. So this year the first full day of autumn is my birthday, other years it is the changing of the guard.]

Unlike the Blue Moon we covered back in August, the Harvest Moon behaves differently than a typical full moon. “Throughout the year, the moon rises, on average, about 50 minutes later each day,” according to NASA Science News. “But near the autumnal equinox … the day-to-day difference in the local time of moonrise is only 30 minutes.” Why does that matter? Simply put, agriculture.

“In the days before electric lights, farmers depended on bright moonlight to extend the workday beyond sunset,” wrote NASA’s Dr. Tony Phillips. “It was the only way they could gather their ripening crops in time for market. The full moon closest to the autumnal equinox became the Harvest Moon, and it was always a welcome sight.”

Back in 2010, there was a Super Harvest Moon — the first one in two decades and the last until 2029 — when the seasonal lunar event happened on the night of the autumnal equinox, offering what Phillips describes as “maximum illumination.”

So, when should you try to catch a glimpse of the Harvest moon? “Although the moon will appear full all night long — from dusk till dawn — astronomers define full moon as that instant when the moon lies most directly opposite the sun for the month,” according to EarthSky. That moment will occur at 7:13 a.m. on Thursday ET (that’s 11:13 Universal Time). But isn’t that morning, you ask? Yep, the moon will be full after sunrise for the eastern United States, but other time zones should have more luck.

Source: http://tinyurl.com/lyyw53p

Musician Neil Young has a slightly more romantic take on this moon, about dancing in its glowing light:

Harvest Moon
Neil Young

Come a little bit closer
Hear what I have to say
Just like children sleepin'
We could dream this night away

But there's a full moon risin'
Let's go dancin' in the light
We know where the music's playin'
Let's go out and feel the night

Because I'm still in love with you
I wanna see you dance again
Because I'm still in love with you
On this harvest moon

When we were strangers
I watched you from afar
Then when we were lovers
I loved you with all my heart

But now it's gettin' late
And the moon is climbin' high
I want to celebrate
See it shinin' in your eye

Because I'm still in love with you
I wanna see you dance again
Because I'm still in love with you
On this harvest moon

Because I'm still in love with you
I wanna see you dance again
Because I'm still in love with you
On this harvest moon

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And another musician who sees the light of the moon as a time to dance and keep things light...

Dancing In The Moonlight
Van Morrison

We get it almost every night
And when that moon gets big and bright
It's supernatural delight
Everybody was dancing in the moonlight

Everybody here is out of sight
They don't bark and they don't bite
They keep things loose, they keep things light
Everybody was dancing in the moonlight

Dancing in the moonlight
Everybody's feelin' warm and bright
It's such a fine and natural sight
Everybody's dancing in the moonlight

We like our fun and we never fight
You can't dance and stay uptight
It's supernatural delight
Everybody was dancing in the moonlight

Dancing in the moonlight
Everybody's feelin' warm and bright
It's such a fine and natural sight
Everybody's dancing in the moonlight

Everybody here is out of sight
They don't bark and they don't bite
They keep things loose, they keep things light
Everybody was dancing in the moonlight

Everybody's dancing in the moonlight
Everybody's feelin' warm and bright
It's such a fine and natural sight
Everybody's dancing in the moonlight

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