Friday September 29 will see the last supermoon of the year be joined by three other planets; Jupiter, Saturn and Mercury for a celestial finish to a very supermoon filled summer. This September supermoon is known as the Harvest Moon and is the fourth successive supermoon of the year.
This summer we’ve seen a full Buck Moon, a super Sturgeon Moon, and a Super Blue Moon grace our skies and give a lot of action for all you astrology buffs.
What is a Harvest Moon?
This supermoon is known as the Harvest Moon as it is the closest full moon to the equinox when the earth has almost equal amounts of daylight and darkness.
It takes the name ‘harvest’ because it’s thought the particularly bright moon helps illuminate farmer’s fields all night long to help them gather the harvest.
When can I see the Super Harvest Moon?
The Super Harvest Moon will peak at 10:57am on September 29, though it will probably be best seen the night before when the sky is dark and has clear conditions.
What is a supermoon?
The term Supermoon describes the celestial event that sees the colliding of both a full moon and the time when the moon is at its nearest distance to Earth on its orbit (when it reaches “pedigree”). The visibility of this occurrence tends to happen during full moons due to the moon appearing far bigger and brighter when it is at this stage.
A full moon occurs every 29.5 days when the moon completes its lunar cycle, however, this rare supermoon is pretty special as it is the second full moon in a month.
When are the next full moons in 2023?
Whilst we say goodbye to the supermoons of 2023, there are still some full moons to look forward to so here are the rest of the full moons this year:
- October 28: Hunter’s Moon
- November 27: Frost Moon or Beaver Moon
- December 27: Cold Moon
When are the next supermoons?
After an exciting run in the lunar calendar this year, astrology buffs will have to wait quite a while for the next supermoon on September 18 2024. Next year will see a series of three super new moons with the first super new moon taking place on February 9 2024, and the other two on March 10 and April 8.
Super New Moons, like any other New Moon, are usually not visible from Earth, but the Super New Moon on April 8, 2024, will in fact be visible and is one to look out for. It will pass in front of the Sun and create a spectacular total solar eclipse.