close
close

first Drop

Com TW NOw News 2024

September’s Full Harvest Supermoon Will Also Produce a Partial Lunar Eclipse: How and When to See It
news

September’s Full Harvest Supermoon Will Also Produce a Partial Lunar Eclipse: How and When to See It

Sign up for CNN’s Wonder Theory science newsletter. Explore the universe with news about fascinating discoveries, scientific developments and more.



CNN

Stargazers around the world can witness a partial lunar eclipse on Tuesday evening, as September’s full moon shines brightly.

According to NASA, the moon will reach fullness at 10:35 p.m. ET on Tuesday, but will remain full through Thursday morning.

If you look up at the moon on Tuesday night, it will appear to have a bite taken out of it for about an hour by a partial lunar eclipse. A partial lunar eclipse occurs when the Earth passes between the sun and the full moon without being perfectly aligned. The celestial event will be over Europe and much of Asia, Africa, North America and South America.

The Moon will enter Earth’s full shadow at 10:13 p.m. ET and will exit at 11:16 p.m. ET.

According to NASA, the eclipse will peak at 10:44 p.m. ET. Check the Time and Date site to see when the partial eclipse will be visible in your area; it will occur in the evening in the United States, but in the early morning hours in Europe.

During a total lunar eclipse, Earth’s shadow can turn the moon’s surface a striking red color, known as a blood moon, NASA says. But that won’t be the case tonight, experts say.

“Tonight’s eclipse will not be a total lunar eclipse, so the moon will not appear red, but part of the moon will appear darker,” said Noah Petro, NASA project scientist for both the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter and Artemis III.

“If you didn’t know it was happening or were even looking at the moon, you might not notice it. But the keen observer may notice that the ‘upper right corner’ of the moon is darker than the rest of the moon,” he said via email. “This is the part that is completely in Earth’s shadow, although not a large portion of the moon will be in darkness. But if it’s clear, I encourage people to go outside and look, it’s always worth looking at the moon!”

September’s full moon is also believed to be the second of four consecutive supermoons expected in 2024, according to NASA. Definitions of a supermoon vary, but the term generally refers to a full moon that is closer to Earth than normal, making it appear larger and brighter in the night sky. Some astronomers say the phenomenon occurs when the moon is within 90 percent of its perigee — its closest approach to Earth in orbit.

While the average distance between Earth and the moon is 238,000 miles (384,472 kilometers), the full moon in September will be just 221,000 miles (358,300 kilometers) away, NASA said.

And keep an eye on Saturn, which will appear as a bright dot near the full moon.

The moon is seen through clouds during a partial lunar eclipse over Caracas, Venezuela, on November 8, 2022.

The name Harvest Moon refers to the season, as the event occurs near the beginning of fall, or the autumnal equinox, which falls on September 22.

Many people associate the Harvest Moon with an orange color as it begins to rise, but the same can be said of all full moons. The color is due to the greater thickness of Earth’s atmosphere near the horizon, according to EarthSky.

According to The Old Farmer’s Almanac, this is the time of year when most summer crops are planted in the Northern Hemisphere. In addition, the bright moon used to allow farmers to work into the evening to harvest their crops before the first frost.

Other names for the September full moon—as used by various native tribes—include the Hopi people’s “Full Harvest Moon,” the Abenaki people’s “Corn Farmer’s Moon,” the Lakota people’s “Brown Leaf Moon,” and the Passamaquoddy people’s “Autumn Moon.”

European names for the moon also honor the fall harvest, including the “fruit moon,” a nod to the fruits ripening as summer draws to a close, and the “barley moon” to mark when the harvest is gathered from the fields, according to NASA.

Other traditions celebrated around this time of harvest include the Korean festival Chuseok and the Chinese Mooncake Festival. Both festivals also honor family and remember ancestors.

The next full moon, the Hunter’s Moon on October 17, is also a supermoon and the closest of the year, at a distance of 221,000 miles (357,428 kilometers).

The Beaver Moon occurs on November 15th and the last full moon of the year is the Cold Moon on December 15th.

In the meantime, stargazers can expect a busy meteor shower season to close out 2024. Here are the peak dates for the upcoming celestial activity, according to the American Meteor Society:

Draconids: October 7-8

Orionids: October 20-21

Southern Taurids: November 4-5

Northern Taurids: November 11-12

Leonids: November 17-18

Geminids: December 13-14

Ursids: December 21-22