Skywatchers rejoice! Friday the 13th is your lucky day as a rare “Harvest” Moon will appear across the United States.
The Harvest Moon, which is the full Moon nearest the start of fall or the autumnal equinox — which this year takes place on September 23 — will be happening on Friday the 13th, according to the Farmers’ Almanac.
Technically, a full Moon occurs at a specific moment. For those living in the Eastern Time Zone, this will be 12:33 a.m. on Saturday, September 14, but it will appear perfectly circular to our eyes from Thursday night through Sunday morning, according to NASA.
It is quite rare for the whole United States to experience a full moon on Friday the 13th, which is superstitiously known as an unlucky day. The last time it happened was on October 13, 2000. And if it you miss this one, you’ll have to wait nearly three decades for it to happen again on August 13th, 2049.
“Harvest” Moon got its name because the early-evening moonlight enables farmers to work later into the evenings at harvest time.
The upcoming Harvest Moon has also been referred to as a “micromoon” because it will appear around 14 percent smaller in the sky. This is because the moon is also nearing its apogee — the point in its nearly month-long elliptical orbit at which it s furthest away from Earth.
The moon will be at apogee on Friday, September 13, at 9:32 a.m. EDT. However, it will not appear significantly different in size to our eyes.
The opposite of a “micromoon” is a “supermoon” when the the moon is at the closest point to the Earth in its orbit, called perigee.
