Shine on, Harvest Moon

September 26, 2007 APOD - Saguaro Moon by Stefan Seip

Just this little tidbit and the change of seasons ought to give you a clue of what's going on. Most of time during the year, the Moon comes along about 50 minutes later each night, but as the tilt of our Earth is gradually changing, that time is a bit shorter - by around 20 minutes for several evenings in a row. Why? The answer is easy enough. The ecliptic - or plane of Earth's orbit around the sun - makes a narrow angle with respect to the horizon in the evening in autumn.

Is it really more orange or yellow than normal? How about larger? Oh, yes. You want those science facts, don't you? Sure! Why not… Oftentimes we perceive the Harvest Moon as being more orange than at any other time of the year. The reason is not only scientific enough - but true. Coloration is caused by the scattering of the light by particles in our atmosphere.


Mixed Mood Meditations on the Harvest Moon, by Tammy Plotner and the essential Universe Today