If you’re a moon lover, you’ll love this rare combination of celestial treats — a supermoon, a partial lunar eclipse and a full moon — all in September.
According to NASA, International Lunar Observation Night begins Saturday. This event was created in 2010 as a way for moon lovers around the world to come together to celebrate Earth’s natural satellite. You can participate in the event virtually or in person by connecting with skygazers on NASA’s International Lunar Observation Night interactive map.
According to The Almanac, the full moon will appear brighter from September 16 to 18. This full moon will be a supermoon and will light up the sky at its brightest on September 17 at 10:34 p.m. EDT, according to Space.com.
And on the night of September 17-18, there will be a partial lunar eclipse in America, Europe and Africa. Here’s what we know about these lunar events:
When is the Super Harvest Blood Moon?
A full moon at perigee is called a supermoon. It appears 14% larger and 30% brighter than usual. Perigee is the moon’s closest orbital point to Earth, about 357,500 kilometers away. The next supermoon will appear on September 17.
When the moon is at its apogee, i.e. at its furthest point from the earth, it is called a micromoon.
The Harvest Moon is the second supermoon of the year after the Sturgeon Moon in August. Supermoons generally appear three or four times a year, always one after the other; after September 17, the next supermoons are October 17 and November 15.
A blood moon occurs when the Earth is between the Moon and the Sun. This partial lunar eclipse blocks direct sunlight on the Moon, so the only light it receives passes through the Earth’s atmosphere, which filters out most colors of sunlight except red. The atmosphere refracts, or bends, the reddish light toward the Moon, which reflects it with a red glow.
This full moon will also feature a partial lunar eclipse.
Who has the best view of the partial lunar eclipse?
According to TimeandDate.com, the partial lunar eclipse on September 18 will be visible over North America, South America, most of Europe and Asia, Africa, the Arctic and Antarctica.
If you live in the United States or elsewhere in North America, you can see the partial lunar eclipse starting at 10:12 p.m. EDT.
What happens during a partial lunar eclipse?
According to Space.com, a partial lunar eclipse occurs when the Earth passes between the Sun and the Moon, but the three celestial bodies do not form a straight line.
When this happens, the umbra – the darkest part of the Earth’s shadow – covers only a small part of the Moon’s surface. The penumbra, or the outer edge of the Earth’s shadow, covers the remaining part of the Moon.
Here the moon will move during the partial lunar eclipse
During a partial lunar eclipse, only part of the moon passes through Earth’s shadow, making it appear as if Earth is taking a “bite” out of the moon’s surface. Earth’s shadow will appear dark on the moon’s surface. The alignment of the sun, Earth and moon will determine how strong the “bite” on the moon will be, NASA says.
Our astronomical alignments will be better next year. There will be a total of three lunar eclipses and one partial lunar eclipse in 2025-2026. The last total lunar eclipse occurred on November 8, 2022, according to SkyandTelescope.org.
Why is it called Harvest Moon?
The Harvest Moon is named after the time of year when the harvest must be brought in from the fields.
Alan MacRobert, editor of Sky & Telescope magazine, says: “In the days before tractors with headlights, moonlight was crucial to the work, enabling the crops to be brought in quickly before they were spoiled by the rain.”
According to NASA, farmers were very busy at this time of year, working after dark as many crops ripened in late summer and early fall. With the advent of moonlight farming, the Harvest Moon was born.
CONTRIBUTORS Doyle Rice, USA TODAY, and Iris Seaton, USA TODAY NETWORK
Source: NASA, EarthandSky.org, SkyandTelescope.org, TimeandDate.com and USA TODAY research
