Watch out for the gorgeous harvest moon rising above the horizon Tuesday this week. The harvest moon is the full moon closest the autumnal equinox.
The equinox is on 22 September this year. The full moon occurs on 21 September at 00.54 BST. At 19.37 BST, the moon will rise in London with 99.8% illumination. Both nights will have full discs with nearly 99% of the moon's surface lit.
The most well-known name for the full moons is the harvest moon. These names are derived from Native American culture. Before it was common to use a calendar that is based on the sun's movement and the modern month of the year, other societies named full moons.
The equinox refers to the day when the lengths of night and day are equal. It marks the arrival of autumn. The nights will get longer from now to the March equinox, and then the nights will get longer until December's winter solstice.
