Harvest Moon

I really like taking pictures of the Moon! Especially The Harvest Moon, Because the Harvest Moon is no ordinary full moon; it behaves in a special way. Throughout the year the Moon rises, on average, about 50 minutes later each day. But near the autumnal equinox, which comes this year on Sept. 22nd, the day-to-day difference in the local time of moonrise is only 30 minutes! The Moon will rise around sunset tonight--and not long after sunset for the next few evenings. Tonights Moon really lit up the surface of the lake as you can see in the picture above. The extra dose of lighting afforded by the full Moon closest to the equinox is what gives the Harvest Moon its name. Try looking at the Moon tonight when it's rising in the east. You might notice something funny: the low-hanging Moon looks very big. This is a trick of the eye known as the Moon illusion. I'll explain that in another post so you won't want to miss that!