Best 2011 Harvest Moon pictures from EarthSky

FriendsFull moon will come at 5:27 a.m. EDT (9:27 Universal Time) on Monday, September 12, not much before sunrise on the morning of the 12th according to U.S. clocks. This coming full moon is the legendary Harvest Moon. So tonight’s moon will look almost full, and so will the moon tomorrow night. Then before dawn breaks on September 12, the crest of the moon’s full phase will arrive.

Read more about the Harvest Moon.

One of you asked:

Is the phase of the moon consistent across the United States? Recently, on a trip to the California coast we saw a full moon, but it did not appear to be in the same phase just one day later in the western Pennsylvania sky.

The moon’s phase does appear the same as seen from across the U.S. – even from across the world – more or less. When the moon is full, for example, it’s more or less full for all of us. So looking up at night unites us all, across the planet. We all see the moon as nearly full around now, for example.

The moon’s phase is continuously changing, though, even if that change isn’t perceptible to the eye. From one night to the next, the moon can definitely appear different in phase from the previous night. What’s more, your perception of the moon might be affected by other things – for example, by whether you’re seeing the moon in twilight or late at night, whether it’s peeking from behind trees or shining in solitary splendor, whether it’s a big reddish moon low in the sky or a smaller whiter moon closer to overhead.

There are seasonal variations, too. Around the time of full moon in spring, the moon rises much later one evening than it does the evening before. To me, that gives the impression of a moon that’s waning rapidly. In late summer and fall, the opposite is true. Full moons in September and October are characterized by a shorter-than-average time between successive moonrises. These moonrises close to the time of sunset – around the time of the full moon in September and October – are the essence of the Harvest Moon phenomenon.

In September, around the time of full moon, the moon rises around the time of sunset for several evenings in a row. It’s almost as if the months of September and October each have several nights of full moon, instead of just one. The next few evenings are a good time to observe this phenomenon. Tonight’s moon is ascending in the east around the time of sunset, and I suspect many of you will call it a full moon, even though it’s really still a waxing gibbous moon.

When will we see the Harvest Moon in 2011?

Understanding moon phases