(WWJ) – There's been a lot of space talk recently about the delayed Artemis I launch, but there's another big happening in the sky coming up -- the Harvest Moon.
We’ve all heard the name before, but why is it called that? WWJ’s Erin Vee spoke with Mike Murray of the Delta College Planetarium in Bay City to find out on this week’s edition of “All Over the Space.”
We often hear about moons with special names, but perhaps the most recognizable one is the Harvest Moon. Murray says that goes back thousands of years.
“Because, as long as there’s been agriculture, we use the full moon in the autumn to keep harvesting,” Murray said.
So why is it?
Murray says any moon will rise later each night – because the moon is orbiting around the Earth, so it’s “slipping among the background stars” – and typically, it could rise as much as 50 minutes later each night.
“But not in the autumn, because of the angle that the moon’s orbit has around the Earth, that means that in the autumn, there’s only a 30-minute delay between moonrises,” Murray said.
He says not just on the night of the full Harvest Moon, but several nights before and after farmers can keep harvesting well into the evening.
While the Harvest Moon typically comes in October, Murray says this is one of the exceptions because it's defined as "the full moon closest to the autumnal equinox."
More information on the Delta College Planetarium in Bay City can be found online. Follow the planetarium on Facebook and Instagram for the latest news and updates.
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