A harvest moon will appear in the sky Thursday night according to Earthsky.
The type is the full moon closest to the Sept. 22 autumnal equinox, and shows up in the sky two weeks before to two weeks after the equinox, a time when the sun crosses the equator and day and night are in equal length everywhere on earth.
"In the days before electric lights, farmers depended on bright moonlight to extend the workday beyond sunset," NASA's Dr. Tony Phillips told NASA Science News."It was the only way they could gather their ripening crops in time for market. The full moon closest to the autumnal equinox became the harvest moon, and it was always a welcome sight."
The harvest moon does not act the same as a typical full moon because of agricultural conditions Earthsky reported.
This dates back to the days before light bulbs were invented and farmers had to harvest their crops by moonlight. The dilemma was especially true when several crops would be ready at the same time in the late summer and early autumn months, and farmers were very busy harvesting particularly after the sun went down when they had to rely on moonlight to finish their work, hence the name of harvest moon. This moon rises an average of 50 minutes later each day which amounts to a day-to-day difference of 30 minutes of light it shines down on the ground.
The first super harvest moon in two decades and the last one until 2029, occurred in 2010 when a seasonal lunar eclipse occurred on the same exact night as the autumnal equinox giving off a "maximum illumination" NASA Science News reported.
A full moon is one which is exactly opposite the sun Earthsky reports. This will occur at 7:13 a.m. Thursday, which is morning for the eastern part of the United States. This therefore means that this region of the country will have sunlight while other parts will see moonlight.
