Harvest Moon

Harvest Moon

The northern autumnal equinox is less than two weeks away. That makes tonight's full Moon the Harvest Moon, the full Moon closest to the beginning of Fall. Ruslan Merzlyakov sends this picture of the pumpkin-colored orb from Nykøbing Mors, Denmark:

 

"It was a very beautiful moonrise!" he says.

The name "Harvest Moon" harkens back to a bygone era. Before the days of electric lights, farmers relied on moonlight to harvest crops which ripened all at once in autumn. They couldn't afford to stop working at sunset, so "harvest moonlight" was essential to their operations. The flow of electricity has made the Moon obsolete as a source of practical illumination, but not as an object of beauty. Step outside tonight at sunset, look east and enjoy the view.