Start watching for the waxing moon. The upcoming Harvest Moon is an especially big and bright one, but is it a supermoon? That depends on your definition.

Bruce McClure

September 14, 2016

Supermoons and the Saros cycle

Here's one you might not know ... the intriguing relationship between supermoons and the famous 18-year Saros cycle of eclipses.

Bruce McClure

September 13, 2016

Smallest Martian phase on September 13

Did you know Mars shows phases as seen from Earth? As darkness falls tonight, the waxing gibbous moon simulates Mars' smallest phase of 2016.

Bruce McClure

September 13, 2016

Minor lunar standstill and Harvest Moon

A phenomenon known as a "minor lunar standstill" will cause a shift in characteristic moonrise times on the nights around this year's Harvest Moon.

Bruce McClure

September 10, 2016

Moon and Mars on September 9

Plus Saturn and Antares are still nearby.

Bruce McClure

September 9, 2016

Moon, Saturn and Mars on September 7

Watch for them tonight, and also for Antares, a bright star. Then note the moon’s change of position relative to these objects over the next several days.

Bruce McClure

September 7, 2016

Moon and Spica on September 4

You can use tonight's waxing crescent moon to find the dazzling planet Venus at dusk and the star Spica at nightfall.

Bruce McClure

September 4, 2016

Bruce McClure

Bruce McClure served as lead writer for EarthSky's popular Tonight pages from 2004 to 2021, when he opted for a much-deserved retirement. You can still find many articles at EarthSky.org that were originally written by Bruce, and which the EarthSky editors still update regularly. Bruce is a sundial aficionado, whose love for the heavens has taken him to Lake Titicaca in Bolivia and sailing in the North Atlantic, where he earned his celestial navigation certificate through the School of Ocean Sailing and Navigation. He also wrote and hosted public astronomy programs and planetarium programs in and around his home in upstate New York. Bruce he loves cycles of all kinds! You can still find many articles at EarthSky with Bruce's name on them, exploring the various, intricate cycles of the sky.