Here in the Northern Hemisphere, we call the full moon closest to the September equinox by the name Harvest Moon The full moon will fall nearly five days earlier this full moon – the full moon closest to our autumn equinox – is our Harvest Moon Want an exact time? The crest of the September 2024 full moon falls at 2:34 UTC on September 18 (9:34 p.m. CDT on September 17). More details on the September Harvest Moon here the full Harvest Moon can occur anywhere from two weeks before the autumn equinox to two weeks after So it can come in either September or October The Harvest Moon is either the last full moon of the summer season the September full moon is the first of the season’s three full moons That’s the first full moon of autumn for the Northern Hemisphere and the first spring full moon for the Southern Hemisphere Harvest Moon is just a name. In some ways, it’s like any other full moon name But these autumn full moons do have special characteristics related to the time of moonrise Nature is particularly cooperative in giving us dusk-till-dawn moonlight for several evenings in a row around the time of the Harvest Moon the moon rises about 50 minutes later each day But when a full moon happens close to an autumn equinox the moon on the following nights rises closer to the time of sunset the moon rises only about 20 to 25 minutes later daily for several days before and after the full Harvest Moon For very high northern latitudes, there’s even less time between successive moonrises. The farther north you live, the greater the Harvest Moon effect. For instance, at Anchorage, Alaska (61 degrees north latitude) the moon will rise at nearly the same time for a week The difference between 50 minutes and 25 minutes might not seem like much. But it means that, in the nights after a full Harvest Moon, you’ll see the moon ascending in the east relatively soon after sunset. The moon will rise during or near deepening twilight on these nights presenting dusk-till-dawn moonlight for several nights in a row around the time of the Harvest Moon Click here for a printable calendar showing the time of moonrise for your location So, the full Harvest Moon isn’t necessarily closer than any other full moon. But it might be. The moon’s distance at full moon varies from year to year. In 2024, the Harvest Moon is a full supermoon, but not the closest supermoon for the year. There’s also a partial lunar eclipse you might think the Harvest Moon looks bigger or brighter or more orange That’s because the Harvest Moon has such a powerful mystique Many people look for it shortly after sunset around the time of full moon After sunset around the time of any full moon It’s the location of the moon near the horizon that causes the Harvest Moon – or any full moon – to look big and orange in color A big moon seen near the horizon is undergoing a psychological effect. It’s a trick your eyes are playing – an illusion – called the moon illusion You can find many lengthy explanations of the moon illusion by doing an online search for those words the orange color of a moon near the horizon isn’t a psychological effect which stems from the fact that – when you look toward a horizon – you’re looking through a greater thickness of Earth’s atmosphere than when you gaze up and overhead the Harvest Moon always comes in March or early April it’s our understanding that the Southern Hemisphere doesn’t name its full moons as we do in the Northern Hemisphere tell us your thoughts on Southern Hemisphere full moon names in the comments below Read more: Full moon names by month and season Having four full moons in one season is quite atypical some people refer to the third of these four full moons as a seasonal Blue Moon The next seasonal Blue Moon will be on August 19 The shorter-than-usual lag time between moonrises around the full Harvest Moon means no long period of darkness between sunset and moonrise for days in succession the lamp of the Harvest Moon helped farmers gather their crops despite the diminishing daylight hours As the sun’s light faded in the west the moon would soon rise in the east to illuminate the fields throughout the night That name probably sprang to the lips of farmers throughout the Northern Hemisphere as the Harvest Moon aided in bringing in the crops The name was popularized in the early 20th century by the song below And don’t miss this more recent version of the song by Leon Redbone: Bottom line: The Northern Hemisphere’s Harvest Moon falls overnight September 17-18 or almost 4 days before the September equinox More details on the September 2023 super Harvest Moon here. 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