Sep. 15, 5:13 a.m. EDT — Full Harvest Moon. Traditionally, this
designation goes to the full moon that occurs closest to the Autumnal (fall)
Equinox. The Harvest Moon usually comes in September, but (on average) about
every three or four years it will fall in early October. At the peak of the
harvest, farmers can work into the night by the light of this moon. Usually the
full Moon rises an average of 50 minutes later each night, but for the few
nights around the Harvest Moon, the moon seems to rise at nearly the same time
each night: just 25 to 30 minutes later across the U.S., and only 10 to 20
minutes later for much of Canada and Europe. Corn, pumpkins, squash, beans, and
wild rice — the chief Indian staples — are now ready for gathering.


HARVEST MOON:  This weekend's full Moon has a special name--the Harvest
Moon. It's the full Moon closest to the northern autumnal equinox. In
years past, farmers depended on the light of the Harvest Moon to gather
ripening crops late into the night. Post-Edison, we appreciate it
mainly for its beauty. Be alert in the nights ahead for Harvest Moon
halos, coronas and 'dogs. Visit https://spaceweather.com for example and more information.

AURORA WATCH:  Around the Arctic Circle, moonlight will compete with
Northern Lights.  A solar wind stream flowing from a coronal hole on
the sun is due to hit Earth on Sept. 13th or 14th, possibly sparking
high-latitude geomagnetic storms.  Sky watchers from Alaska to
Scandinavia should be alert for auroras.

September 2008 Aurora Gallery:   https://spaceweather.com/aurora/gallery_01sep08.htm

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Saguaro Moon
Credit & Copyright: Stefan Seip (Astro Meeting)
https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap070926.html
The Harvest moon is a legend in Norse mythology, it is said to be the most powerful of the Moons granting Loki's blessing for a strong harvest and plenty. The Harvest moon is often mistaken for the modern day Hunter's moon.
In the legend of the Harvest moon, it is said that all full moons
have their own special characteristics based primarily on the
whereabouts of the ecliptic in the sky at the time of year that these moons are visible.
The full
moons of September, October and November as seen from the northern
hemisphere - which correspond to the full moons of March, April and May
as seen from the southern hemisphere - are well known in the folklore of the sky.
All full moons rise around the time of sunset. However,
although in general the moon rises about 50 minutes later each day, as
it moves in orbit around Earth, the Harvest Moon and Hunter's Moon are
special, because around the time of these full moons, the time
difference between moonrise on successive evenings is shorter than
usual. In other words, the moon rises approximately 30 minutes later,
from one night to the next, as seen from about 40 degrees N. or S.
latitude, for several evenings around the full Hunter's or Harvest
Moons.Thus there is no long period of darkness between sunset and
moonrise around the time following these full moons. In times past this
feature of these autumn moons was said to help farmers working to bring
in their crops (or, in the case of the Hunter's Moon, hunters tracking
their prey). They could continue being productive by moonlight even
after the sun had set. Hence the name Harvest (or Hunter's) Moon.
The reason for the shorter-than-usual rising time between successive
moonrises around the time of the Harvest and Hunter's Moon is that 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.
The Harvest Moon is said to come before or after the autumnal equinox.
It is simply the full moon closest to that equinox. About once every
four years it occurs in October, depending on the cycles of the moon.
Currently, the latest the Harvest Moon can occur is on October 8.
Between 1900 and 2010 the Harvest Moon falls on October 7 in 1930,
1949, 1987, 2006, and on October 8 in 1911.
Norse mythology celebrates with gatherings, festivals, and rituals that are intricately attuned to the Harvest Moon or Hunter's Moon.










































Often, the Harvest Moon seems to be bigger or brighter or more
colorful than other moons. These effects have to do with the seasonal
tilt of the earth. The warm color of the moon shortly after it rises is
an optical illusion, based on the fact that when the moon is low in the
sky, you are looking at it through a greater amount of atmospheric
particles than when the moon is overhead. The atmosphere scatters the
bluish component of moonlight (which is really reflected white light
from the sun), but allows the reddish component of the light to travel
a straighter path to your eyes. Hence all moons (and stars and planets)
look reddish when they are low in the sky.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harvest_moon